Realizations
by e-felix
Summary: Kurt thought he would be happy to have a safe relationship with Blaine. Puck thought he was happy not being in a relationship at all. They both come to realize their thoughts may not be true. Starts off Klaine. Eventual Puckurt.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **_This is my first public fanfiction. I hope you guys like it. I'm trying to work on developing the story and plot. Feedback would be nice. _

_I don't own Glee.  
><em>

Kurt stared in his locker mirror, his eyes transfixed on his unruly hair. Now that Blaine attended McKinley, Kurt tried harder than ever to keep his appearance flawless. They had been dating for several months now. They were often spotted around the halls of McKinley holding hands and receiving slushy facials together. Even though they were accepted by the Glee club, not everyone was as open to having a gay couple (besides Brittany and Santana) flaunting around school.

As Kurt fixed his hair with the styling products he kept in his locker, Blaine casually strolled up and stood in front of him.

"Hey there," Blaine smiled up at Kurt.

Kurt, still messing with his hair, nodded in acknowledgement of the boy's presence but did not return the greeting.

Blaine cleared his throat before continuing on.

"So your house tonight, right? The usual time?"

It was now customary for Blaine to join in on the traditional Hummel-Hudson Friday night dinners.

"Obviously." Kurt replied in a bored voice.

Blaine's face twisted at Kurt's unusually dull voice.

"Are you all right?"

Blaine was worried that Kurt was being bullied again. His enrollment at McKinley had sparked some controversy with several groups. The Warblers felt betrayed, and some of the students at McKinley, especially the jocks, felt as if the two boys were trying to "turn the school gay". Outside of the sanctuary of the choir room, Kurt and Blaine often had to field vicious words shouted at them during the school day.

This however, was not Kurt's problem.

"Do you ever feel...?" Kurt paused to try to think of an appropriate word for his feelings. He sighed and then closed his locker.

"Never mind." He plastered a smile onto his face. "My house, of course. Carole is making dinner this week, so it is sure to be lovely... and edible."

"Alright then, can't wait." Blaine leaned upwards to kiss Kurt and the other boy turned his face to the side quickly.

"Not here Blaine, anyone could see."

Blaine looked around, a bewildered look on his face. "Kurt, it's after school. No one's around to see." He sighed anyway and took a step back.

"I guess I'll see you then. Love you."

"You too." Kurt grabbed his bag and turned away, strutting off down the hallway.

Blaine knew something was wrong with Kurt but he didn't want to push it. He figured he was probably stressed and would come around eventually. He shrugged and walked in the opposite direction so he could head home.

Kurt liked to think that Blaine's transfer to McKinley was the reason for their new found closeness. It seemed that he and Blaine were attached at the hip and knew every move the other was going to do. It was so predictable and … boring. That was the word he was searching for earlier with his boyfriend. Kurt felt so bored with his relationship. Before, whenever Blaine was around he was excited but now he just felt like the relationship was monotonous. They followed the same routine every week, over and over again. Kurt thought he would love the comfort that predictability provided, but he had to admit to himself that he wasn't as interested as he used to be.

Kurt sat in his room at his vanity, halfheartedly spreading one of his many moisturizing creams onto his face. His nighttime routine had even become insanely predictable. He sighed at his reflection in the mirror. Tonight's dinner would be a pain to sit through. Blaine would arrive at 6:58 pm, sharp. He would chuckle and say "I hope I'm not late" as Kurt opened the door. Kurt would smile (or fake a smile) and say "Of course not" as he let him on. Blaine would exchange pleasantries with Burt as Carole called down Finn for dinner. They would all sit around the table, one big happy family. Burt, Finn, and Blaine would talk about football or some other sport as Carole and Kurt would discuss the meal or fashion. The conversations would overlap as dessert was served. Burt would try to sneak a second helping before Kurt would catch him. Burt would go up to bed and warn Blaine politely, but seriously, not to try anything with his son under his roof. Blaine would agree and he and Kurt would sit and talk while watching television. True to his word, Blaine would never touch or even make out with Kurt. At first Kurt was happy about that, but now he was slightly disappointed that Blaine never tried to hard to get physical with him. Although the way things were going now, Kurt didn't want to get physical too much with Blaine either.

Looking at the clock which read 6:57, Kurt put one last dab of lotion on his skin before getting up to go and open the door for Blaine who was probably just driving up to the Hummel-Hudson residence.

Kurt headed up his stairs from his basement room and opened up the door, not at all surprised to see Carole putting the finishing touches on the meal that was set up on the dining room table as his father helped to set up the plates. He smiled to himself, happy that his dad finally found love again, even if it wasn't with his mother.

The doorbell rang and Kurt tried to keep the same smile going as he went to go open the door for Blaine. It was getting harder and harder for him to genuinely smile around his boyfriend.

Kurt opened the door.

"I hope I'm not late!" Blaine smiled up at Kurt, ridiculously happy to be spending another evening together with his boyfriend for dinner with his family.

"Of course not." Kurt stepped to the side letting Blaine in.

Both boys walked into the dining room, side by side, cueing Carole to call her own son down for dinner.

Carole smiled; she too was familiar with this routine.

"Finn!" She called out. "Dinner time!" She paused before calling again. "You too Puck!"

Kurt's eyes widened in surprise. He was not expecting for Noah Puckerman to join them for their family dinner night.

"Puck?" he questioned.

"Oh yes sweetie, sorry I forgot to mention it earlier but Puck is spending the night with Finn. It's been so long since he and Finn have really spent some time together, I'm so happy those boys could be friends again."

"That's fine, Carole!" Blaine said, as enthusiastically as ever.

Kurt nodded silently. He knew Puck and Finn had been trying to mend their friendship for a while now. The two boys had been incredibly close before all of the drama that had happened. Still, Kurt was shocked that Puck was going to be joining their meal. He also was quite nervous about it for some reason. He wasn't scared, Puck was someone he considered a friend now, he was no longer one of Kurt's bullies. As a matter of fact, Puck was one of his main defenders now. Kurt just chalked it up to Puck wanting to remain on Finn's good side. His step-brother was protective over him as well, but lately even he could not match up to Puck's defensive skills.

Puck and Finn loudly announced their arrival as they thudded down the stairs, rambling on about, from what Kurt could make out, the awesomeness of Super Mario Brothers.

Rolling his eyes, Kurt sat down at his usual place at the table, in front of Blaine and closer to Carole's head of the table. Burt sat at the other head, between Blaine and Finn. Kurt's throat tightened as he realized that Puck would be sitting in front of him, between Carole and Finn.

As he walked towards the table and sat down, Puck gave Kurt a nod as he said, "Hummel."

He stared at Kurt for a while before Blaine cleared his throat. He quickly looked at the other boy before nodding again and saying, "Blazer boy."

Kurt smirked and said, "Puckerman."

He found it amusing that Puck only referred to him by his last name and insisted on trying out nicknames for Blaine until "he found one that he liked." He had a whole slew of nicknames for most of Kurt's friends, actually, not just Blaine.

Despite Puck being there, dinner went on as usual. The conversation was split; Kurt and Carole talked about the sales that were going on at the mall while Burt, Finn and Puck chatted about the latest news in football.

"I'm telling you Carole, you should definitely go back and exchange the boots for those skirts. They are definitely worth the investment."

"But aren't those boots supposed to be in this season? I need something to keep my feet warm at the football games." Carole looked over to the boys. "Aren't you guys supposed to go to the championship again this year? Shannon was telling me at open house that you all were looking really good."

Finn's face scrunched up, his confused look. "Who is Shannon?"

"She's talking about Coach." Puck replied, rolling his eyes. "We are Carole. Like, really good. Me and Finn are going to pull the team into victory!" Puck high-fived Finn and grinned proudly towards Carole and Kurt.

"Finn and I" Kurt whispered under his breath.

"Huh?" Puck looked over at Kurt with a questioning look on his face. "Are you coming back to kick for us dude? The kicker we have sucks big time. We could really use your kicking and dancing skills this year."

"Unfortunately, I cannot grace the football team with my talent this year. I have much more important things to focus on."

"Like what, your hair?" Puck scoffed.

"Look Hummel, I know you were tripping on your helmet hair but trust me, it didn't look half bad. If it bothers you that much, I can give you a helmet proof style, courtesy of The Puckersaorus." Puck leaned back in his chair, running his hand over his mohawk.

"Oh please, I would rather give up all of my credit cards than have my hair styled in such an atrocious way. You should consider giving it up too. You've had that hideous thing for years now, except for that short bit of time last year. That was the most decent I think I've ever seen you." Kurt gave Puck a snide look as he cut his baked chicken breast menacingly.

"Hey, don't be hatin' on the hawk Hummel. This thing is a chick magnet." Puck grinned mischievously, still leaning backwards on his chair.

"Really? And here I thought you wooed all those girls on your charm alone. I didn't know all they fell for was the mohawk. It makes sense though, your lack of grammar would probably send them running if you talked too much." Kurt raised an eyebrow challengingly.

Puck sat upright. "My charm works fine! I can charm the pants off of any chick in Lima."

"Boys, enough." Burt demanded. He looked from Kurt to Puck before continuing to eat his meal.

Kurt stopped cutting his chicken and glanced over at Puck. He looked upset, but he was smiling. Kurt sat bemused. His little uproar with Puck left him feeling somewhat excited. He hadn't felt this kind of rush in weeks. It was almost as good as getting a solo part in Glee or an amazing deal in the mall. Although admittedly, even those things couldn't rile him up as much as they used to.

Feeling a tug on his cardigan, he glanced over towards Blaine. _Oh right,_ he thought, _Blaine._

"Are you okay?" whispered his boyfriend.

"Fine." Kurt whispered back curtly before returning his attention back towards his food.

The rest of dinner went on as usual. Soon, everyone was finished dessert. Burt reached out to grab another slice of pie.

"Don't even think about it, Dad." Kurt raised his eyes at his father.

Burt slouched down in his chair, smiling to himself. "Can't blame a guy for trying." He raised himself out of his chair and yawned.

"If you boys will get the dishes, I think I'm going to head in for tonight. Gotta head to the shop early tomorrow, have a few cars that need a lot of work done to 'em."

Burt walked over towards the stairs.

"Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight..." Finn said. After all this time he still wasn't too sure on what to address Burt as.

"Goodnight Mr. Hummel!" Blaine said cheerfully.

"Night, Burt" said Puck, earning him a weird look from both Burt and Finn.

"I'll get the dishes, you boys can go on. Goodnight honey." Carole stood up and began to collect the used plates.

"Keep your hands off my boy under my roof, okay?" Burt said with a smile on his face.

The comment was obviously meant for Blaine, but before he could respond with his usual "Of course, sir", Puck answered instead.

"I'll try."

Everyone in the room immediately glared at Puck.

"I think he was talking to me." Blaine said politely.

"I was, but same goes for you too Puck. Hands to yourself." Burt gave one last look to Blaine and Puck before he shook his head and walked up the stairs.

Carole and Kurt tried not to laugh and Finn looked around, highly confused.

"Dude, why would you touch Kurt? You aren't going to hurt him are you?" Finn assumed that Puck was going to seek revenge on Kurt for the comments that they had exchanged over dinner.

"And mess up his beautiful hair?" mocked Puck. "Naw. If I touch him, he'll get too happy anyways."

"Trust me, your touch will have me puking, not swooning. I'm sure any of your latest conquests would agree." Kurt retorted.

Finn looked from Puck to Kurt then to Blaine who was starting to look just as confused as Finn.

"Let's just go watch a movie Kurt. I'm sure Puck and Finn want to get back to their game." Blaine stood up and he and Kurt started moving towards the living room.

"Actually, I'm kind of tired of beating Finn. What movies are you guys watching?" Puck ran over to Kurt and Blaine.

Finn got up and walked behind them.

"You didn't win all of the games. But I want to watch something too."

"Ya'll aren't going to watch some chick flick are you? Cause the Puckersaurous ain't sitting through that."

Kurt rolled his eyes as he sat down next to Blaine on the couch. "Actually Blaine and I were planning on watching Sweeney Todd. It's next on our list of musical to movie adaptations."

"That's the movie with Johnny Depp cutting those people right?" Puck said crashing on the couch next to Kurt, who instinctively moved closer to Blaine.

"Yes Puck, this is the movie where Johnny Depp, as you so eloquently put it, cut those people." Kurt sighed as he got up and put the movie in. As he got everything set up, he noticed Finn looking at Puck with a puzzled look in his eye. Kurt was glad to see that Puck's antics tonight were not only confusing him, but Finn as well. Although Kurt realized that it didn't take much to confuse Finn, he knew that Finn knew Puck pretty well.

Kurt walked back over to the couch and sat in the middle of Blaine and Puck, feeling rather awkward as the movie started. After a while, he settled down, leaning back into the couch and enjoying the movie. About halfway through the movie, he felt Puck rearranging himself on the couch. Kurt didn't think much of it until it became clear that Puck was shifting himself closer and closer to Kurt. Deciding to ignore Puck, Kurt continued to watch the movie. Then, Puck moved again. This time, he shifted far enough to where his thighs and arms were pressed into Kurt. The sudden contact sent a jolt through Kurt's body. Kurt panicked; here he was sitting on a couch with his boyfriend, who was clearly more into the movie than into touching Kurt, while on the other side of him Puckerman was sending electric shocks through Kurt's body by simply rubbing up against him. Unable to focus on the movie, Kurt tried to come up with a plan. If he coughed and moved at just the right time, he could move his body to where he was no longer in contact with Puck. Perfect.

Just as he decided to enact his plan, Puck moved again. This time his torso turned to where both of his arms where suddenly around Kurt. One arm was skillfully draped over one of Kurt's shoulders while the other lazily rested on Kurt's thigh.

Kurt's mind went into overdrive. His heart rate and breathing quickened and he was sure that his body was going to explode with all of the buzzing that it was suddenly doing. He mentally kicked himself. Here he was sitting on the couch with his boyfriend, while Puck basically cuddled into his body. And he was enjoying it! Was this cheating? Kurt looked over towards Blaine, who was so engrossed into the movie that he didn't notice Puck and Kurt intertwined together.

"What are you doing?" Kurt whispered out as softly as he could. The movie had gotten louder, and Blaine wasn't able to hear Kurt's voice over the sounds.

"Get off of me!" Kurt voice was harsh, even if he was barely audible.

Puck smirked as he slowly withdrew his arms, making sure that Kurt felt his fingers grazing over his body.

Huffing, Kurt turned away. Kurt was glad to be free of the other boys touch….. Wasn't he? His body felt suddenly empty. The rush that he felt during dinner was nothing compared to what he just felt. It was all caused by Puck. Kurt felt confused and ashamed. He shook off those feelings and leaned into Blaine. Blaine wrapped his arm around Kurt tiredly, as if it were a chore. Kurt expected to feel something magical when he received contact from Blaine, but no feelings came. If fact, he felt uncomfortable, as if Blaine's arm was pulling him down. Kurt sighed and glared at the television. He could no longer enjoy the movie.

As the movie ended, Kurt quickly got up, to get away from both Puck and Blaine. Blaine got up as well and kissed Kurt on the cheek.

"I have to get going Kurt. See you tomorrow. Love you."

"Okay. You too." Kurt had once again deflected from saying the L word to Blaine. The other boy didn't seem to notice however as he waved goodbye to Finn.

"Bye Finn!"

Finn waved dopily back to him, getting up to stretch and yawn, hitting the overhead light in the process.

"Don't I get a goodbye too, Groucho?"

Kurt snickered quietly at Puck's nickname for Blaine, carefully hiding his face from him.

"I assumed you were leaving as well, actually."

"Naw, I'm staying the night remember. Me and Finny D here are having a bro's night."

"Right, of course. Have fun." Blaine looked towards Kurt, as if waiting for something then shook his head and walked off.

Any other night, Kurt would have walked Blaine to the door, prompting Blaine to give him a quick, chaste kiss on the lips before leaving. Nothing too heavy while his father was there was always Blaine's excuse for not pushing the kiss further. Tonight, however, Kurt stayed behind with Finn and Puck.

"Do you want me to get you some milk?" he asked Finn, referring to his nightly ritual of getting Finn a warm glass of milk before heading downstairs to his room.

Once again, Puck cut in and answered.

"Don't mind if you do, Hummel."

"I meant for Finn, Puckerman."

Finn looked around, confused yet again. "I uhh, no. No. I'm good." He blushed and walked towards the door. "Actually I think I'm going to just go back upstairs and play some more. You go ahead to bed Kurt. Thanks though."

Finn started to walk away and then turned around towards Puck.

Puck looked back at Finn.

Finn coughed and stared back at Puck.

"He wants you to go with him Puckerman!" Kurt exclaimed, rolling his eyes at both boys before walking away into the kitchen.

He still wanted a glass of milk for himself. He needed to calm is nerves. Kurt opened the fridge and bent down to get the carton of milk out. He reached into the cabinet for his favorite mug, a big blue ceramic mug that used to belong to his mother. He poured the milk into it and placed it into the microwave. He returned the carton of milk to the refrigerator while his milk heated up.

The microwave beeped just as Puck entered the kitchen.

"This for me he?" Puck asks as he opens the microwave and grabs the blue mug out of it.

"No! Hand that here!" Kurt quickly grabs the mug from Puck and tries to walk out of the kitchen, but Puck is looming in the doorway.

Puck holds up his hands to show that he meant no harm. "Jeeze Hummel, I just wanted a nice warm glass of milk. You didn't have to yell at me. I am a guest here you know." Puck sends Kurt a charming smile that Kurt returns with an icy glare.

"You are Finn's guest, not my own. I suggest you move out of the doorway."

"Or what?" Puck crosses his arms over his chest. "You're going to make me move?" Puck laughs thinking about Kurt trying to overpower him.

"I won't, but I'm sure this steaming milk in your face will persuade you to move." Kurt purses his lips to keep from smiling. He hates to admit it, but these exchanges with Puck give him more joy than he would care to admit.

Puck however, sees Kurt's facial expression as threatening sincerity and quickly moves out of his way.

"Come on Hummel, lighten up. Take a joke dude."

Kurt breezed by Puck, ignoring the shock that went through his body as is arm made contact with Puck's.

He sighed and looked back at Puck as he reached the door that led to his basement.

"It's Kurt, Noah. It's Kurt."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **_Okay, here is chapter 2. Thank you everyone who reviewed and put this story on alert! :) That means a lot to me. I hope this chapter won't disappoint you guys. This one is in Puck's point of view, which is a bit harder for me. Still, I'm proud of it. _

_I don't own Glee. _

Puck opened his eyes and looked around the Hummel-Hudson living room, confused for a moment about how he got there.

Then he remembered how he couldn't sleep last night. At first he had blamed Finn's loud caveman snoring, so he moved downstairs to the guest room. That still didn't explain how he got on the couch though.

"C'mon think Puck," he whispered to himself out loud. "What did you do?"

Puck was used to waking up in strange places but he hadn't done so in a long time. After a few minutes of thinking, Puck gave up. Frustrated he kicked the cover that was on him off and got up to his feet. He waked to the kitchen, his stomach grumbling.

By the looks of things it was still earlier in the morning, well, earlier for Puck at least. Puck could see the remnants of several people's breakfast on the stove. He grabbed some leftover bacon and shoved it into his mouth. Quickly spitting it out, he cursed to himself.

"The fuck kind of bacon is this!"

"It's turkey bacon you moron. I thought someone with your Kosher habits wouldn't even know what real bacon tasted like" Kurt said while leaning in the kitchen doorway.

Puck jumped and turned around. The other boy had clearly surprised him.

"Damnit Hummel! Could you have least warned me before sneaking up on me liked that!" Puck placed a hand over his heart, it was beating unusually fast.

"What, did I scare poor little Puckerman?" Kurt said teasingly.

"Look, I'm a badass. I don't get scared. You just… caught me off guard. You don't mess with a sleeping lion or some shit like that. I could have attacked you, Hummel!" Puck said, regaining his composure. There was no way in Jewish hell that he was going to let Kurt get to him.

"Ha!" Kurt scoffed loudly. "You can drop the whole badass act with me, _Puckerman_," Kurt said his name with an intimidating scowl. "You wouldn't have hit me anyway."

"What act? This ain't acting. All of this is 100% pure sexy badass" Puck accompanied his words my slowly running his hands down his chest. He rolled up his shirt to reveal his biceps. "Come on, check these guns out. One hit and your pretty little face would be in pieces on the floor."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Look, no one cares about your muscles here. We both know that you aren't going to hit me."

Puck glared at Kurt, giving him one of his best badass stared. "What makes you so sure about that Hummel?" he said in a low, threatening tone.

Kurt raised his eyebrows and glared right back at him. After a while, Kurt's look turned into confusion, then amusement. Laughing he asked, "You don't remember anything from last night do you?"

Puck was starting to get antsy. "Whaddya mean? During the movie? Look Hummel, I can touch someone without it meaning anything. Just ask any chick in Lima."

Kurt just continued to smile. "While I'm sure that every female in Lima would testify to your lack of compassion, I was not referring to that. Do you remember how you made it to the living room to sleep?"

"How the hell did you know where I was sleeping at Hummel!" Puck was upset now, he wanted to know how Kurt knew and he didn't. "C'mon, spill it!"

Kurt laughed quietly, then looked seriously at the boy. "Trust me, Noah, if you don't remember, it's only for the best."

Kurt started to turn around and leave but Puck rushed to fill the gap between the two boys and grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going, Hummel? We aren't done here!" Puck's face would have intimidated anyone else into a crying ball on the floor, but Kurt was not even flinching. He was however, as Puck quickly noticed, breathing deeply and shaking quite a bit but he was smiling as though he was excited by it all.

"I think we are, Noah." Kurt touched Puck's hand that was gripping his arm.

Puck felt his body get warmer instantly. He released his hold on Kurt and shook his head. What was going on with him today?

"I have to go. I have a standing date with Blaine. See you later, Noah?" Kurt looked tenderly at Puck. He wasn't used to the boy using his first name so often. When did he start doing that? Only a few people called him Noah; his mother, his grandmother, Rachel, and Santana when she was super pissed. Puck was confused.

He scratched his head, his brain was pumping as thoughts swelled into it.

"Uhh, yeah. Okay, whatever Hum-.., " Puck bent his head down. "Kurt."

Kurt's lips twitched upwards, but he merely nodded and turned around to walk away.

Still standing in the kitchen, Puck called out to Kurt.

"Have fun with Blaine!"

Kurt whipped his head back around quickly and gave Puck a weird look. He turned around and continued on and Puck swore he heard the other boy say under his breath, "Not likely."

After waking Finn up and eating toaster waffles, Puck decided to head back home. He thanked Carole for letting him spend the night and headed home in his truck.

He finally had convinced his mom, even after his brief time in juvie, that he needed a truck for his senior year. He paid for it, well, he had somewhat paid for it. Cougars would give you anything to keep their cheating ways a secret.

As he was driving home, his phone buzzed once in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw that it was a text from Santana. Not even checking to see what it said, he tossed it to the side.

He was in no mood to go watch her and Brittany make out. Ever since she and Brittany had become somewhat of an official item, he could not longer get Santana alone for some one on one Puckersarus action. He wasn't in the mood for other girls either since no one else understood that he just wasn't ready for a commitment.

After wooing and winning Lauren over, their relationship went downhill quickly. Their two badass and bossy people in a relationship just wasn't working out. Santana was one thing, but Lauren took the control thing to a whole new level. They were still friends though and Puck still had a soft spot for both girls. Actually, he had a soft spot for all of the girls in Glee club. He hated to see them sad and he couldn't bear to watch them get tormented in the hallway. The same went for Kurt.

Pulling into his driveway, he tried to keep his mind off of the girls and Kurt. He was still upset about what happened in the kitchen earlier with the boy. What happened last night that he couldn't remember?

"Ma, I'm back!" he shouted as he walked into his house. He paused for a minute then looked at the clock on the wall. Damn, his mom was probably still at temple. He sighed and went upstairs to his room. Lying down on his bed, he kicked his shoes off and turned on the television. An old football game was on, so he decided to watch that.

Soon, his mother and sister had come back home from temple.

"Noah! Come here!" His mother called for him as she entered the house.

Grumbling, Puck turned off the game and went downstairs to greet his mother.

"Hey Ma. How was temple?" Puck walked into the living room where his mother was taking off her coat. He saw his little sister struggling with hers, so he reached out and helped her get it off.

"You would know if you went more often Noah. Your grandmother misses you and the rabbi has been asking about you as well."

"Aww come on Ma, I go to temple enough. Nana sees me all the time too." Puck groaned but stopped when he saw the look his mother was giving him.

"Really Noah, I don't see why you dislike temple so much. Is it that Berry girl? You know she and her fathers are the nicest people. A little annoying maybe, but they really do care."

"It's not Rachel mom, she and I are cool. It's just more of a personal reason I guess." Puck lowered his eyes. How could he tell his mother all of the things that had been running through his mind lately? It wasn't that he didn't love temple, he just felt so uncomfortable being there now.

His mom stepped over to him and cupped his face in her hands. "Look at me, Noah." She said lifting his face up so they were looking at each other eye to eye. She gazed into his eyes for a while before smiling. "You have feeling for someone, don't you Noah."

Puck looked at his mother in disbelief as he pushed her away. "What? Ma, no. You know me and Lauren broke up."

"Well I know you have a parade of girls besides her. People talk you know, Noah. Is it that Santana girl? Or Quinn again?" She put her hands on her hips. "There's something you aren't telling me Noah, I can see it in your eyes."

Puck was getting frustrated. He hated when his mother did this. She believed that the eyes were the windows to the soul, and she was usually right. Normally, Puck would know what he was hiding from his mom but this time even he couldn't sort through his normally limited emotions.

His mother glared at him again before nodding her head and smiling. "Well it seems that there is something you aren't telling yourself either."

"I gotta go, Ma. I'll be back before dinner." Puck almost managed to get out of the door before his mother grabbed his shirt, pulling it and turning him around.

"You know I love you, right Noah? No matter what?"

"I know, Ma. I know."

His mother sighed and hugged him. "Go on. And you better be back before dinner, your sister misses having you around."

"Okay. I'll be home for dinner. I promise." Puck unraveled himself from his mother's hug and walked out of the door. He got into his truck, and grabbed his phone, which was still sitting in the passenger seat where he had thrown it earlier. He had intended to call Santana and ask her if she and Brittany still wanted some company when he saw he had another text message. From Kurt.

Passing by Santana's text he opened the message from Kurt.

'_**I'm not having any fun."**_

Puck smirked and pressed the send button on his phone, calling Kurt. After several rings, Kurt finally picked up the phone.

"What?"

"Gosh, what a way to answer your phone. I was just trying to check up on you."

"Check up on me? I think we both know that you are the one who needs monitoring Noah. Have you gotten yourself into some sort of trouble since this morning? I wouldn't put it past you."

Puck could feel Kurt's attitude even through the phone. He laughed and thought to himself, _"Typical. Even when I call him he has to have the upper hand."_

"So you didn't have any fun with the munchkin from the Lollipop Guild, huh?"

"Muncki- Are you referring to Blaine?" Kurt coughed, obviously suppressing a laugh.

"Yeah him. I thought you guys had so much in common."

"We don't," Kurt blurted out quickly. "I mean, we do."

"You can't seem to make up your mind there." Puck smiled to himself, knowing that he had regained the control in the conversation. "So what did you and Tiny Tim get up to?"

"You have got to stop with those nicknames Noah." Kurt sighed into the phone. "Why do you want to know about what Blaine and I do anyway? It really isn't any of your concern."

Puck felt hurt for a moment and he didn't know why. He found himself questioning his own motives. "_Yeah, why are you concerned about it anyway?"_ He shook the thoughts off and replied back to Kurt grumpily.

"Hey, I asked didn't I? I can't check up on a friend?"

"I didn't think of us as close friends like that Noah."

"Well maybe you should. I stick up for your ass all the time. The least you could do is tell me about your stupid date."

Puck was getting angrier and he didn't know why it mattered so much to him.

"Fine! You want to know about my _stupid_ date! It sucked, Noah! It sucked!" Kurt hissed into the phone.

Puck sat in is car, shocked by Kurt's sudden outburst. He waited a while, calming down before responding.

"Look, I'm sorry Kurt. I didn't know." Puck bit his cheek before continuing on. "You wanna talk about it?"

"I would rather not discuss it on the phone." Kurt whispered tensely.

"Uhh.. Do you want to meet somewhere then?" Puck surprised himself by asking.

Obviously Kurt was surprised too because Puck heard the other boy squeak into the phone.

Puck slapped his hand to his forehead and ran it through his mohawk. Why had he asked Kurt to meet him somewhere?

"You don't have to, I just thought you wanted to, I understand if you don't..." Puck rambled, trying to explain himself.

Kurt waited a while before responding. "Actually, I wouldn't mind that at all. Do you know where the Lima Bean is?"

"Yeah, that coffee place in town? Where all those artsy people hang?" Puck was relieved that Kurt didn't find his suggestion to meet up weird.

"Yes, the coffee shop. Meet me there in 20 minutes?"

"Yeah, 20 minutes. Cool."

"See you there Noah."

Puck heard the phone click and smiled to himself.

He waited a little while before pulling out of his driveway to head towards town.

"You're late." Kurt said as Puck walked over to where he was sitting.

"Chill out, I'm only like, 10 minutes late Hummel. You're worse than Zizes."

Puck pulled his chair out and turned it around backwards before sitting and facing Kurt.

Kurt glared at him over what looked to be some sort of iced coffee. Puck wasn't big on these fancy coffee drink places.

"It's Kurt. I don't know why you avoid using people's given names but if you expect to be my friend you have to use mine."

Puck laughed, shaking his head. How did he always manage to find the bossy ones? Wait, he wasn't finding Kurt, they were just friends. Still, Kurt was a different type of friend than Puck was used to. He couldn't remember the last time he and Finn sat down and talked about anything that didn't concern football.

"Fine, _Kurt._" Puck made sure Kurt knew that he was saying his first name. "What was so suckish about your date with the Brow Monster?

Kurt glared at Puck a little longer before sighing and playing with the straw in his coffee.

"I don't know. It just seems that everything with us has become so routine. It's starting to get-"

"Boring?" Puck interjected Kurt's sentence.

Kurt raised his eyebrows at Puck but seemed happy that Puck had interrupted him.

"Exactly! I just don't have that same sense of excitement that I used to about us anymore." Kurt smiled down towards his drink.

"I know how you feel. The spark just isn't there anymore."

Kurt nodded looking up at Puck again.

"I used to get butterflies every time he was around and now," Kurt made a motion with his hands, "Nothing." Kurt sipped on his drink

"Is the sex bad?" Puck asked seriously.

Kurt choked on his drink, his face turning a deep red color. He sputtered out, "Excuse me!" and coughed again.

"You alright? I'm just asking. When the sex stops feeling good, that's how I know to move on from a chick." Puck explained.

Kurt breathed in and out for a while before replying softly. "Blaine and I haven't taken our relationship to that level yet." Kurt fiddled with his thumbs and then added, "We actually haven't gotten very far into that side of our relationship actually."

Puck face twisted up in shock. "Really? You guys have been dating for a long time. Maybe even longer than all of my relationships combined. Do you think that's why you don't feel anything?" Puck's brain was scrambling to comprehend a relationship without sex.

"No. Well, maybe. Perhaps if I went farther with Blaine our relationship would get better but I just don't have the urge to do anything with him."

Puck was getting more and more confused. "Wait, you don't want to do anything with him? He's your boyfriend."

"I am aware of our relationship status, Noah. I just don't feel like getting intimate with him. Even kissing him is a struggle for me now, honestly."

"Dude, you need to work on that. I know I'm no good at relationships, but isn't that a bad thing?"

Kurt's face sunk in. "I know it is." He whispered.

Puck sat quietly for a while trying to understand and sympathize with Kurt.

"Do you still want to be with him?"

"I- I'm not sure anymore."

"Kurt, you have to tell him that."

Puck saw Kurt's head shake "no" softly. "I can't, he loves me."

"But you don't love him."

"I never said that."

"It's kind of obvious."

Kurt sighed and absent mindedly fixed his hair.

"It's fine, stop that."

Kurt looked at Puck, confused. "What?"

"Your hair. You're messing with it. It looks fine."

"Oh," Kurt placed his hands on the table, "Thank you." Kurt paused before speaking again. "For all of this."

"I didn't do anything."

"You did, actually. You listened. Not many people have done that for me."

"What about Diana Ross? Doesn't she listen to you? I always see you guys gabbering about stuff in the hallway."

Kurt laughed before he placed his hand to his mouth. Removing it, he fixed his face.

"Mercedes, Noah. Yes, Mercedes and I talk all of the time but lately she hasn't been really listening."

Puck nodded, understanding what he meant. He felt like that a lot too. You could talk to a person for a long time and it won't necessarily mean that they are listening to what you have to say.

Puck checked the time on his phone. He had been here with Kurt longer than he planned.

"Look, I have to go. Dinner with my family, you know how that is."

Kurt smiled and nodded. "Definitely. Thank you, Noah. Really, thank you."

Puck smiled as he stood up and placed a twenty dollar bill on the table.

"No problem. Anytime Kurt." He walked over to Kurt and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Seriously, anytime."

"I'll remember that, Noah."

Puck turned and walked away before hearing Kurt call his name.

"Noah! I already paid for this!"

Puck smiled and turned back around.

"I know Hummel, it's compensation."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **_I'm in Alabama right now, visiting family. Got bored and spewed out another chapter. I've decided to alternate point of views in each chapter, so this one is back in Kurt's POV. Once again, thank you all for the reviews/story alerts, it means so much to me! Please give me feedback and corrections – good and bad. I'm trying to become more skilled as a writer, so all comments are appreciated. Chapter 4 might be up tonight or tomorrow, just depends on my schedule. _

_I don't own Glee._

_Enjoy!_

Kurt woke up early on Sunday morning, with a bubbly sensation in his stomach. He wasn't quite sure why he had woken up so early; Sunday's were usually his days to sleep in. Most of his friends attended church on Sundays so he liked to use the extra time to rest.

After stretching and relaxing for a while, he figured he wasn't going to get back to sleep and he got out of bed. He took and shower and got dressed. Nothing too fancy, he just didn't want to spend the entire morning in his pajamas.

Kurt really didn't want to leave the house at all today but he knew that Blaine would want to do something later this afternoon. He always did. Something that he assumed would interest them both, but was really just interesting for Blaine.

Kurt sighed and grabbed his phone, checking for text messages. Two from Mercedes, one from Rachel, and one from Blaine. As usual. He replied to Mercedes and Rachel, the standard greetings and decline of plans – he was going out with Blaine. They both replied back quickly, they both knew that Kurt was going to be busy with Kurt. He felt glad that even if they knew that he wouldn't be able to join them that they would offer anyway.

Kurt opened Blaine's text last, somewhat dreading what it was going to say.

"_**Pick you up at 5. Going out with the Warblers to check out the competition."**_

Kurt's face fell. He really did not feel like joining the Warblers today. Not that he didn't enjoy their company but one could only take so much of their discussions about blazers and solos. While he used to enjoy it, he didn't think the Warblers talked about much of anything else.

Kurt really wished that Blaine would ask him what he wanted to do for once. Blaine always carted him off to plays and musicals, not that he didn't enjoy those things, but Kurt needed some variety in his life.

Kurt scrolled through the contacts on his phone, avoiding replying to Blaine's text. He stopped when he reached a particular name.

_Noah Puckerman_

Kurt leaned against his wall. Noah was probably still sleeping. He didn't have to go to church and he was sure the boy was the type to spend all day in bed. Kurt thumbed over his phone, and then before he lost his nerve, he typed and sent a text out to Puck.

"_**What are you doing today?"**_

Kurt placed his phone on his dresser table, not expecting a reply. He grabbed a basket full of freshly laundered clothes to hang up and put away. He had hung up two shirts before he heard his phone vibrate.

Kurt wasn't going to check it until he saw the words "_Noah Puckerman"_ flash across the screen. He out down the shirt in his hand and opened the text.

"_**Wasn't planning on anything. Do you want to hang?"**_

Kurt smiled, despite himself. He hadn't hung out with anyone on a Sunday afternoon besides Blaine in such a long time. He knew that Mercedes and Rachel always asked him to go out, but they were just asking out of politeness. The two girls both had boyfriends now as well. Whenever they all managed to get together to go to the mall or movies the conversations always gravitated to their significant others. Kurt usually kept quiet during these discussions. He was never really in a mood to brag about Blaine.

Kurt thought for a moment, then replied to Puck's text.

"_**Sure. Where are we going?"**_

Kurt sat down on his plush chair, phone in hand, waiting for Puck to text him back. He soon felt his phone buzz in his hands and was surprised at the response that Puck gave him.

"_**Whatever you want to do."**_

Puck was going to let him decide what they were going to do? For all he knew he could drag him out for a deluxe shopping spree. Kurt smirked and decided to call Puck to see how he felt about that.

"'Sup?"

"Are you sure that you want to let me choose what we do today?"

"I'm not picky. I'm fine with anything. I just want to get out of the house."

So that's why he was so willing. Puck just needed an excuse to leave his house.

"Well then why don't you go out with one of your many female friends?" Kurt was a bit disappointed; he thought that Puck had actually wanted to hang out with him for a moment. He bit his lip. Why would he think that Puck wanted to hang out with him?

"Oh come on Kurt. If you would have been paying attention to my life like I pay attention to yours you would know that I have been trying to steer clear of the ladies for a while. Too much trouble."

Kurt looked at the phone. Since when has Puck paid attention to his life? Well, he had been sticking up for him a lot this year. And he had listened to him complain about Blaine yesterday.

A pang of guilt hit Kurt in his gut. He really didn't pay attention to Noah. Other than Glee club, Kurt and Noah usually went there separate ways. Obviously, Noah was being more attentive to Kurt's life than Kurt was to his.

"Oh, well," Kurt flustered, "If you want to hang out with me, maybe we could go see a movie?"

"Is that what you really want to do?"

Kurt thought for a moment. He had picked a movie as a relatively neutral activity. Everyone could sit and watch a movie.

"Not really. What I really want to do is go see that new art exhibition in the town over, but I know that you won't be interested in that."

"Why do you always assume things about me, Kurt? What time does the exhibition open?"

"I-I'm sorry. It opens at 4. Are you sure you want to go?" Kurt was starting to feel even guiltier about his attitude towards Noah. Maybe he shouldn't assume so much about him. He had really grown from the guy he used to be. The guy who threw him in dumpsters and persuaded celibate cheerleaders to cheat on their boyfriends. Now that Kurt thought about it, Noah never really was that guy. Puck maybe, but Kurt had seen from the beginning the difference between Puck and Noah. They had their similarities, but Noah always seemed to overpower Puck's detrimental ways.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"Sure. I'll be ready at 3:20. It should take us about an hour to get there."

"Haha, alright. Don't want to be the first ones there, huh?

"Not for this event, no. You still need to be here on time though, Noah. 3:20. Don't be late."

"Gosh Hummel you're killing me here." Kurt heard Puck sigh into the phone. "Fine, 3:20."

"Alright Noah, see you then."

"Okay, Kurt."

Kurt heard the click on the other end and sat with his phone perched to his ear for a few seconds longer than usual and then hung up. _"What did I just do?"_

Kurt started to freak out. Had he just made plans with Noah Puckerman? Plans that prevented him from going out with Blaine? His boyfriend, Blaine?

Kurt knew that he should feel bad about it, but he only felt excitement. He was going to see the art exhibit that he wanted! Yes, with Noah, but still. He was doing something that he wanted to do for the first time in weeks. He smiled with joy until he realized that he had to break the news to Blaine. How was he going to tell him?

He reopened Blaine's text and sat looking at the blinking cursor on his phone until he felt his fingers tap out an excuse.

"_**Can't. Not feeling well. Sorry."**_

Kurt knew that lying to his boyfriend was wrong. He also knew that he should feel terrible about it but he just couldn't muster up those guilty feelings.

Kurt looked at his phone. It was only 10:53. He still had plenty of time before his outing with Noah. He resumed putting away his clothes then went upstairs. He saw Carole and Finn sitting at the kitchen table. Finn was playing with an assortment of fruits that seemed to be arranged to display a specific football play while Carole was reading the Sunday newspaper.

"Morning, Kurt." Finn mumbled. He was obviously still sleepy. Carole must have woken him up

"Good morning Kurt!" Carole chirped cheerfully. "Finn and I just got back from the grocery store. Did you just wake up?"

Carole seemed unusually peppy. Kurt smiled at her, he was happy to see her so joyful.

"No, I've been up for quite a while actually. I was just tidying up my room before I head out later."

"Oh, going out with Blaine, right?" Carole nodded, used to Kurt's normal Sunday afternoon activities.

"No actually, I'm going out with…another friend." Kurt smiled to himself.

"Mercedes, then?" Carole looked up at Kurt from her paper.

Kurt shook his head quickly. "No, not her."

"It can't be Rachel," Finn piped in, still grumbling. "She's dragging me out to some show choir thing today."

Kurt frowned at Finn. He wondered if Finn and Rachel were going to the same event as Blaine and the Warblers. It was highly likely, there weren't too many show choir competitions likely to happen on a Sunday afternoon in Ohio.

"Who are you going with then, Kurt?" Carole said as she placed the paper down and stood up from her chair. She grabbed her empty plate along with Finn's and took them over to the sink. Finn reached out with his hand and made a whimpering bleat. He had been engrossed in running out his football plays via the fruits.

Kurt shuffled on his feet. He didn't know why he felt so nervous about telling Carole and Finn about spending the afternoon with Noah. They weren't doing anything wrong, well Noah wasn't anyway. He didn't know that Kurt was lying to Blaine about going to the art exhibit with him. Kurt was lying to Blaine.

Kurt messed with his hair a while before replying. "Noah."

Kurt heard Carole drop the plates she was washing in the sink.

Finn looked at Kurt curiously. "Noa- Do you mean Puck? You're going out with Puck?"

"No. Well, yes. Noah and I are going to an art exhibit. We aren't going out. We just are going… to the same place. Together."

Carole looked at Kurt with an odd look. "Okay Kurt. Have fun then." She looked at him again before leaving the kitchen.

Finn sat looking at his empty hands. "Puck's going to an art exhibit. With you?" He quickly looked at Kurt. "Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it's weird. Not that him going out with you is weird but Puck going to see art is weird." Finn looked at Kurt, hoping that he had understood what he was trying to say.

Kurt did, so he nodded down at Finn. "I know. Although I do admit that it's a bit…odd, he asked me what I wanted to do and he agreed to go with me." Kurt shrugged.

Finn stood up and sat on the back of the chair. "That's cool I guess. But why couldn't Blaine take you?"

"_Yeah," _Kurt thought, _"Why couldn't Blaine take me?"_

Kurt shrugged again. "He didn't ask me. In fact, I think that he might be at the show choir competition that Rachel is dragging you to. If you see him, could you just not mention that I'm going to the art exhibit with Noah, please?" Kurt put on one of puppy faces.

"You didn't tell him!" Finn got up from the back of the chair.

"Well, I sort of told him I wasn't feeling well."

"So, you lied to him?"

"No, well… I guess. It's just. He wouldn't understand"

Finn shook his head. "Yeah Kurt, I won't mention anything…"

Kurt smiled.

"...This time."

Kurt's face fell a bit.

"I'm not going to help you lie to your boyfriend Kurt. I know that's not you. I know you think that because you aren't cheating on Blaine that it's okay, but it's not. Lying can be worse than cheating and I don't want to get involved with that. Blaine's a good guy, he doesn't deserve that."

Kurt lowered his eyes and nodded. Finn was right. "Just this one time, I promise." Kurt whispered.

Finn folded his arms across his chest. "This one time. I don't feel good about this, Kurt."

"I know. I don't either."

"Alright. Well. Have fun with Puck today." Finn sent another confused look at Kurt before heading upstairs.

Kurt sighed. He hated dragging Finn into this. He didn't want to lie to Blaine but he just wouldn't understand. Kurt and Puck were just two friends going to see an art exhibit together. Right? Kurt couldn't deny the fact that every time he was around Puck, his heart beat increased and he got a fuzzy feeling all over his body, but that was just because Puck was the first person to that actually seemed to be interested in him for a long time. Puck wasn't just hanging out with Kurt because he felt obligated to, like Blaine. He wasn't talking to him out of habit like Mercedes. He actually wanted to listen to Kurt.

Kurt looked around the kitchen. He felt his stomach grumble. He hadn't eaten breakfast yet. He fixed himself an egg white omelet and cut up some pieces of cantaloupe. As he sat down at the table, he heard his father walk in the front door.

Burt walked into the kitchen and sat down in front of Kurt.

"I didn't know you had to work today." Kurt said between chews of his eggs.

"Just had to finish up some paperwork. Not too much." Burt looked at Kurt's plate.

"Are you just eating breakfast?"

Kurt nodded, swallowed, and wiped his mouth with a napkin before speaking. "I had some things to take care of in my room."

"Like a change of plans?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow at his father.

"Carole called into the shop and told me about you going out today with Puck."

Kurt nodded; he had suspected that she would tell his father. At least now, he didn't have to.

"We aren't really going out so much as going to the same place…together."

"That's what going out is son. Look, I'm not one to barge in and tell you what to do..."

Kurt gave his father an amused look.

"Don't give me that look. You know that I just merely give my suggestions and let you make your own decisions. And I'm about to do that now. I can't really stop you from going on this date with-"

"It's not a date, dad. Definitely not a date. Noah and I are just friends."

Burt stared at Kurt before resuming his speech. "Fine. I can't stop you from going out on this _not_ _a date_ with… _Noah, _but I just want to make sure you know that you have are in a relationship. Unless things have changed from when I was growing up, that still means you are with another person who cares about you and the things that you do. Now, did you inform Blaine that you and _Noah _would be going somewhere today?"

Kurt shook his head "no" slowly.

Burt sighed. "Kurt-"

"I know dad. Finn and I have already gone over this. I know it isn't right but Blaine…. Blaine just wouldn't understand."

"You haven't really given him a chance to, son."

Kurt sat at the table staring at his father. He was right. Even if his relationship with Blaine wasn't going like he wanted it to, he still had to be honest and respect Blaine and their relationship.

Kurt nodded. "Okay dad. Can I tell him after I get back though? Noah will be here in a while and I need to go get ready."

Burt huffed and nodded back to his son. "Alright. But you need to tell him about this as soon as you get back."

"I will dad, I will."

"Good, now go and get ready then. I know you like to look perfect whenever you go out."

Kurt smiled and got up from the table. He placed his dishes in the sink and went back downstairs to his room. He spent a few minutes coordinating his outfit before finalizing it. He took another shower and got dressed. He grabbed his phone before heading upstairs. He checked his phone, Blaine had replied to his text quite some time ago.

"_**That's fine."**_

Kurt sighed and went outside on the porch to wait for Noah to arrive.

At 3:22, Puck pulled into the Hummel-Hudson driveway, a large grin spread on his face.

Kurt smirked and walked towards his truck.

"You're late, Noah"

"Only by two minutes. In my book that's on time."

Kurt rolled his eyes and got into his truck.

"Let's just go then."

Puck laughed and backed out of the driveway, not aware that 3 very curious sets of eyes watched him and Kurt from the house as they left.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **_Thanks for bearing with me! I appreciate everything so much! Hope you enjoy this chapter! It's back in Puck's POV._

_I do not own Glee._

"I didn't tell Blaine that I was going out today."

That's the first thing that Kurt says to him once he pulls off. Puck didn't know what to say to that. Did Kurt want him to turn around or was he just letting Puck know?

Puck nodded his head, letting Kurt know that he had heard him.

"It's just; I sort of lied and told him that I wasn't feeling well. He thinks I'm staying home today."

Now Puck really understood what Kurt was saying. He knew the feeling very well. Guilt. Although from the way Kurt was smiling, he wasn't too sure if he felt all too bad about lying. Puck glanced over at Kurt. He was waiting for a response from Puck.

"Look, I'm not sure what you want me to say here. Do you feel guilty about this? I just thought we were going to an art exhibit. I didn't know you were sneaking around to be my friend." Puck didn't like the idea of going behind Blaine's back to be Kurt's friend for some reason even though he had done much worse things behind other people's backs before.

"I'm not sneaking around! I'm planning on telling him when I get home. I just don't think he would understand."

"Understand what? Us being friends? I'm a friendly enough person don't cha think?" Puck gave Kurt his best charming smile, which caused Kurt to laugh.

"Yes Noah, you are a very friendly person indeed. You're being a great friend. That is why I don't think Blaine will understand."

Puck didn't get it. His brows furrowed as he tried to understand what Kurt meant.

"Does Blaine not want you to have friends or something?"

Kurt gave Puck a confused look. "No, of course he wants me to have friends. It's just…Don't you think that our friendship is a bit odd, Noah?

Puck thought about it. Sure, he had done some pretty bad things to Kurt in the past but he thought he had made up for it. He was being a lot nicer to everyone. Being in Glee club had really changed him, he had grown a lot. Why couldn't everyone see that?

"I'm not going to hurt you or anything stupid like that, Kurt. I thought you had figured that out by now. I actually protect you when you need it too."

"I know that! That's not what I meant!" Kurt bit his lip. Whatever he was thinking about made him nervous.

"What is it then! Why couldn't we be friends? Why do you think Brow Boy couldn't accept that?

"Noah!" Kurt yipped at him.

"What!" Puck was getting frustrated with Kurt. He didn't understand what he was trying to say. What was so wrong with them being friends?

"It's just that with me being gay and all…" Kurt's face turned red and he started to play with the hem of his shirt. "A lot of people would find it weird that you and I are friends."

"What does you being gay have to do with any of this! I'm not trying to date you or some shit like that! I'm trying to be a nice person and be your friend!" Puck gripped the steering wheel tightly. He knew Kurt was gay; he was reminded of that every time he had to stick up for his ass. Now he was using it as some excuse for them not being friends? What kind of crap was that?

"People tend to think that gay guys and straight guys can't be friends, Noah. It isn't true but that's just how people think…especially in this town. Even you used to have that opinion. Remember last year with Sam? I was just helping him out and the entire Glee club jumped to the conclusion that I was having an affair with him. As soon as people see a guy with me, regardless of his sexual orientation, they think that we are romantically involved. My own family even thinks that. My dad and Finn probably think I'm corrupting you with my "gay germs" or something. It's ridiculous! Why can't I have guy friends?" By the time Kurt finishes his spiel, his face is a fiery red and he looks livid.

Puck looks over at him cautiously before replying. He didn't know these sort of things bothered Kurt so much.

"I'm sorry, dude. But that's what I'm saying too."

Kurt looks over at Puck and nods. "I know. It's just… You have to understand that being my friend is more complicated than you think. As crazy as it sounds, and as much as I want you to, you can't treat me like one of your regular guy friends and I can't treat you as I would Mercedes or Rachel."

"I still don't get that, but I think I understand." Puck has calmed down now but he is still slightly confused. "So you didn't tell Blaine about this, huh?"

Kurt laughs and shakes his head. "No, not yet anyway."

Puck nods and continues driving. They sit in silence for a while before Puck gets restless.

"Hey, you want to listen to some music or something?"

"Sure." Kurt fiddles with the truck's radio before settling on a station that he likes.

Puck looks at Kurt, astonished at his music selection. Kurt has chosen a rock station that is playing Cream's _White Room._

"You like this? I didn't think that you were into this type of music." Puck thought that all Kurt listened to was Broadway tunes and the top 40 pop selection.

"To be honest, I really wasn't into that classic rock before last year. I loved the Beatles and Queen and other bands like that forever, I just never listened to the heavier things before."

"Hmm, you're a Beatles fan?"

"I love the Beatles! Before I got into Broadway musicals, I would sing some of their more melodic songs."

"Like _Here Comes the Sun_?" Puck smiles, imagining a younger version of Kurt singing the Beatles song.

"Yes. _Hey Jude_ and _Blackbird_ as well. I'm pretty sure that my father has a video of me singing _Hey Jude_ somewhere, actually."

Puck burst out laughing. Young Kurt singing _Hey Jude_? "I would pay money to see that video."

Kurt's eyes widen. "Oh no, no no. I can't believe I told you that. Not even Finn knows about that."

"Oh come on, I'm sure everyone in Glee club has figured that you have an embarrassing video of yourself singing. I think we all do. We all know Berry does, she puts hers up on the internet every week."

Kurt giggles and Puck can't help but to stare at his face. He likes to see Kurt smile, especially a genuine one like this. At school, Puck can tell that Kurt's face is plastered on mostly because he knows all too well what that looks like. He fake smiles all of the time to stop people from asking questions.

The two boys sit the rest of the drive listening to music and joking lightly about themselves and the other members of Glee club. Well, Puck does most of the joking and Kurt laughs at his observations about some of their friends.

It's almost 4:30 as they pull into the parking lot of the building where the art exhibit is being held. Puck parks his truck and kills the engine. He looks around and sees several men and women, all dressed in outfits much fancier than his own simple button up and clean jeans.

"Shit," he curses under his breath. He didn't know that he had to look that nice for some art show.

"Are you alright, Noah?" Kurt glances over at him, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just didn't know I was supposed to wear a tie or a suit or whatever." Puck looks down at the sneakers on his feet. Why hadn't he worn his dress shoes that he wore to temple?

"Hey, you look fine. Don't worry about what the other people have on. Just go in and enjoy the art."

"That's easy for you to say, you look all...," Puck waved his hands and motioned towards Kurt's outfit, "Fabulous. As usual."

Kurt smiled and cocked his head. "Thank you, Noah. But trust me, I bet you that the artist of the show looks ten times worse than you. All those people dressed to the nines are buyers. The artist inside probably put the finishing pieces on this works last night."

Puck raised an eyebrow at Kurt. "You sure?" He didn't want to look out of place at this upscale exhibit.

"I promise you, come on." Kurt opened his door and jumped out of Puck's truck. Puck sighed and got out as well. They walked to the entrance of the building, which seemed to be a remodeled warehouse. Kurt opened the door and went inside, Puck following behind him. As soon as Puck stepped in, he felt even worse about his outfit. Several of the guys walking around were in sport coats or fancy sweaters. Puck stuck his hands in his pockets and followed Kurt around. He kept his eyes focused on the floor, afraid of making eye contact with the other people in the rooms. He heard Kurt making clicking noises with his tongue as he lead Puck farther back into the warehouse.

"Here we go Puck! There, you see that guy with that everyone seems to be gravitating towards?" Kurt chucked his chin towards the back of the room they had just entered.

Puck finally looked up and saw who Kurt was talking about. A middle aged man with an obviously untrimmed beard stood off to the side next to a particularly large painting. He was surrounded by a mass herd of people who all seemed to be very interested in whatever he was saying. His clothes looked disheveled and although Puck couldn't see it very clearly, he was sure that they had paint stains on them. Puck's face lit up, he was obviously not the worst dressed guy in the place.

Seeing Puck's smiling face, Kurt smiled as well. "I told you. Now come on, let's look at these painting.

Puck and Kurt spent the next hour or so walking around and admiring the paintings. Puck was really interested in what the artist was trying to convey. One painting in particular caught Puck's eye. A young boy with an oversized head that was filled with obscure shapes and doodles was standing over a cliff. The weight of his head seemed to be causing the boy to lean forward as if he was about to topple over the cliff. Puck stood and stared at the picture for a long time before he heard a voice behind him speak.

"That was my favorite piece to paint. It's somewhat of a self portrait."

Puck quickly turned around and was face to face with the scraggily bearded man that Puck knew was the artist.

Flustered, Puck tried to reply to the man without sounding idiotic. "Wow. I uh, really like this piece man. I'm not sure why but it really speaks to me."

The man crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. "What does it say to you?"

"Well," Puck sighed and scratched his neck, "It seems to me like the boy is overwhelmed with his own mind. Like his thoughts are too much for him to handle. His brain is pushing him over the edge."

The man smiled at him and walked closer. "I painted this piece at a very rough time in my life. A few months ago actually." The guy laughed at his own predicament. "I was worried about this art show and I was unsure of my identity, as a person. People looked at me as a sculptor, not a painter. When I tried to paint, people criticized me and told me that it was a silly idea. Yet here I am!" He spread his arms out wide, gesturing to the building filled with his own paintings.

"That's where you got the idea for this painting from?" Puck was curious about the picture; he really felt a connection to it for some reason.

"Not exactly. I moved here from Boston, trying to get away from my past. My reputation there wasn't too good. I needed a fresh start. Still, people assumed things about me that they heard from other people. I was trying to sort out the old me, from the new and improved person that I wanted to be. I didn't want to reinvent myself, just become a better version. I felt as if there was a war going on in my head and it almost drove me over the edge. That my friend," the guy said as he clapped Puck on the shoulder, "was the inspiration behind this painting."

Puck smiled at the man. Puck felt the same way sometimes too. He tried to become a better person, add more to his image than just the badass stud, but people refused to see him as more. Everyone just saw him as a deadbeat when he was really so much more. He knew he had made some bad choices in the past but no one wanted to acknowledge the fact that he was trying to improve himself and become a better person.

Puck and the man stood together for a moment before Kurt walked up beside Puck.

"Sorry to interrupt…" Kurt looked from the artist to Puck, his face full of awe.

"Oh hey Kurt, I was just talking to…" Puck looked at the guy and ran his fingers through his mohawk. "I'm sorry. I don't know your name, dude."

The man laughed and stuck out his hand. "My fault, I'm the one who came up to you. It's Jonas. Jonas Jemski."

Puck shook the man's hand and chuckled. "No problem. And that would explain the two J's on all of these pictures, right?"

Jonas laughed along with Puck. "Yeah, gotta make sure everyone knows who put in all the work here. Although my manager might say otherwise. What's your name?"

"Pu- Noah. Noah Puckerman." Puck felt a small tap on his arm. He looked over to see Kurt's eyes drilling into him. He stared at Kurt before realizing that he wanted to be introduced as well.

"And this is Kurt!" He said clapping his hands on Kurt's shoulders and pushing him towards Jonas.

"Kurt, Kurt Hummel. I've seen your sculpting work online and I wanted to see your art for myself. It's wonderful."

"Thank you! I didn't know anyone in this part of Ohio would know who I was, actually. I moved out here for some privacy."

"Well, Kurt would be the one. He's the one who got me to come out here today honestly."

"Ahh, I see. Dragging the boyfriend out to see an art show, huh?" Jonas smiled towards Kurt.

Puck smile quickly dropped off of his face and Kurt's face turned crimson. He was about to tell Jonas that he and Kurt were just friends before Kurt beat him to it.

"Oh not at all. Puck and I are just friends."

Jonas smiled in Puck's direction

Kurt's face was getting redder and redder. "He's not uhm..Noah isn't…"

"I'm not gay." Puck butted in.

"Oh." Jonas raised his eyebrows in surprise. "My mistake. After all these years, you would think that my gaydar would be perfected by now."

"_Do I look gay? I don't look gay. If anything, I look like I'm the straightest guy in the room." _Puck thought to himself. He wasn't dressed flamboyantly or even too nicely. Did he give off gay vibes or something? He was a hunk. Why would this guy think that he was gay?

"It's fine." Puck grumbled out.

"I really am sorry. I did enjoy our conversation though." Jonas looked very apologetic. He dug into his pocket before getting out a small yellow card. "Here, take my card."

"I uhh..," Puck felt Kurt poke him in the ribs. He reached out and took the card. "Thanks dude."

"Call me if you want to talk more about the piece. Nice to meet you, Noah. Kurt." Jonas nodded to both boys and walked away. As soon as he was out of site, Kurt busted into a fit of laughter.

"Why are you laughing? That's not funny. He thought we were dating. Jeeze, we leave Lima and people are still assuming shit."

"I'm not laughing because of that. It just he-" Kurt laughed again and then composed himself. "He was hitting on you Noah."

What? Puck scrambled to remember what had happened. He had randomly walked up to him and started a conversation, but Puck had just thought the guy was being friendly. Working the crowd at his own event and stuff.

"I mean, I know I'm a stud, but still."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Really, Noah?"

Kurt looked at his watch. "We probably need to go."

Puck pulled out his phone. It was almost 7. He didn't know they had been there that long.

"Yeah, come on. Let's go before someone else tries to hit on me."

Kurt laughed as they both walked back to the truck.

The drive back was relatively normal. They listened to the radio and Puck sang along with a few of the songs that came on, trying and failing to get Kurt to sing with him.

It was almost 8 when Puck pulled back into the Hummel-Hudson driveway.

"I had fun tonight, Noah. I haven't been able to honestly say that in a long time."

"Yeah? Me too. For both of those."

Kurt nodded and got out of the truck.

"Thanks again!"

"No problem, Hummel. Anytime."

Puck backed out of the driveway and headed home. As he pulled into his own driveway, _Hey Jude_ came on the radio. He laughed and waited until the song was over before getting out of the truck. As odd as it sounded, he had really enjoyed spending time with Kurt. He didn't have to act like a badass or like he didn't care like he usually did with his other friends. Kurt didn't expect him to be Puck. He just let him be…Noah. He liked that, he didn't get to do that often outside of his home.

Walking into his house, he saw his mother sitting on the couch reading. She looked up and saw the smile on his face.

"You told me that you weren't going to date for a while, Noah."

"I wasn't on a date, Ma. I just went out with a friend."

"Hmmm, you sure? Your eyes are glowing."

"What? No they aren't Ma."

"I know what I see, Noah."

Puck grumbled under his breath, "Whatever."

His mom raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"Nothing, Ma."

She nodded. "There is still some leftover Cholent in the kitchen from yesterday if you want some."

"Alright thanks. I'll grab a bowl before I go to bed."

Puck headed to the kitchen and grabbed a bowl of Cholent. His grandmother had stewed it for them most likely. His mother didn't make dishes like this for them anymore. As he ate his food, his brain started to roam again.

"_Why did that guy think I was gay? I don't look gay. Kurt looks gay. I look straight. I don't dress all fancy or anything. And why did Ma say my eyes were glowing? I don't glow or sparkle or any of the crazy shit. Like that stupid fake vampire stuff Tina is always ragging on Lauren about. I wonder what they are doing now. I bet Tina is off with Mike somewhere and Lauren is probably home watching a movie. When was the last time Mike and I hung out? Oh yeah, last Thursday, he was showing me some dance steps that he used to work out. His abs are ridiculous. I wonder if he just dances to get his abs like that or if he does other things. Mike has really nice abs.._

Puck shook his head. Was he just thinking about Mike's abs? He stood up from the table, leaving his unfinished bowl of stew. He went to his room and closed his door. Grabbing his guitar, he strummed out a few chords. Drowning out his thoughts with his own melodies, he played without really thinking about it. Before he knew it, he was strumming out the chords to _Hey Jude_. Near the middle of the song, he started to sing along to his own melody.

_And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain  
>Don't carry the world upon your shoulders<br>For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool  
>By making his world a little colder<br>Na na na, na na, na na na na_

_Hey Jude, don't let me down  
>You have found her, now go and get her<br>Remember to let her into your heart  
>Then you can start to make it better<em>

_So let it out and let it in, hey Jude, begin  
>You're waiting for someone to perform with<br>And don't you know that it's just you? Hey Jude, you'll do  
>The movement you need is on your shoulder<br>Na na na, na na, na na na na, yeah_

_Hey Jude, don't make it bad  
>Take a sad song and make it better<br>Remember to let her under your skin  
>Then you begin to make it better<em>

Puck sighed and put his guitar down. He sat on his bed and punched his pillow. He kicked off his shoes and sat back on his bed. Lying back, he closed his yes. He tried to clear his mind the best he could, but then just let his thoughts roam as he went to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **_I feel bad because this took longer than the other chapters but it's shorter. Still, here it is. Kurt's POV. Hope you enjoy it!_

_I do not own Glee._

There was nothing to be nervous about.

That's what Kurt kept telling himself over and over. All he had to do was call Blaine and explain it to him, right? Sure, Blaine would be upset that he had lied to him today, but he wouldn't be mad about his new friendship with Noah. There was no reason for him to be mad about that.

Kurt nodded to himself and grabbed his phone, dialing Blaine's number. Blaine picked up on the second ring.

"Hey, Kurt! I missed you today"

Me too. How was competition?"

"Oh the Warblers have nothing to worry about. The groups this year are not that good. Their biggest competitor will be New Directions. The guys told me to tell you hello, by the way. They hope that you feel better."

"I think that we can handle them. Blaine that's actually what I was calling to talk to you about."

"The guys?"

"No, me not feeling well. Actually, me feeling perfectly fine."

"So you're feeling better? That's good, Kurt."

Kurt sighed, Blaine was not understanding what he was trying to say. He was just going to have to be blunt about it.

"I've been feeling fine all day, Blaine."

"But you told me-"

"I know, Blaine. I'm sorry, I really am. I just freaked out and didn't want to tell you what I was actually doing."

"What you were actually doing? What did you do?"

"I..Noah and I went to an art exhibit."

"You and Noah… Puck? You went with Puck to an art exhibit?"

"Yes, I'm so sorry for lying to you Blaine, I really am."

"It wasn't like a date or anything right? Puck's straight."

"We just went as friends Blaine. Can't I have a male friend without someone thinking that I've suddenly turned him gay! We went on an outing as friends."

"Of course you can! I'm not saying that you can't. It just seems weird. I mean, it's Puck. I didn't even know you guys were friends like that. He always seems to get you riled up."

"_Unlike you," _Kurt thought. _"You don't make me feel any sort of complex emotion at all."_

Kurt didn't want to have this conversation with Blaine, especially not over the phone.

"We are friends, Blaine. I've known him for a long time now and even though we had a rocky start, I have seen him grow as a person."

Kurt took a moment to think about Noah's growth – it was very true. Kurt had seen him go from the school's number one badass to a very caring individual. Yes, it took him knocking up his best friend's girl and a short stint in juvie, but not everyone straightened up right away.

"I understand that, Kurt. I'm just…I'm upset that you lied to me. I thought we could be honest with each other. I thought we could tell each other everything."

"I'm sorry, Blaine. I really am. I didn't want to make you upset because I couldn't go with you."

"I think I'm even more upset knowing that you lied to me." Kurt heard Blaine sigh on the other end of the phone. "You've never lied to me before Kurt, why start now?"

"I…I don't know Blaine."

Kurt really didn't know why he had lied to Blaine. He had never really lied to Blaine before. Not intentionally at least. Kurt was sure that staying in a relationship that made him unhappy was a form of lying. He just didn't want to hurt Blaine…or himself. Being with Blaine made him more aware of who he was. It was a sort of confirmation. Blaine was someone to walk down the hallways with, sing duets with, and go to the movies with. Not that he enjoyed doing those things with Blaine anymore, but the fact that he could made him satisfied.

"Are you still there, Kurt?" Blaine sounded distant in Kurt's mind. Kurt could never seem to focus and give all his attention to Blaine for long periods of time now.

"Yes, sorry. What did you say again?"

"I said that I had to go, but could we please talk about this later?"

"Of course we can."

"Alright Kurt. I've got to go now. Bye. I love you."

"Me too. Bye." Kurt hung up the phone before Blaine could say anything else. He was scared that Blaine would catch on and ask him about his avoidance of the word "love". He had said it so easily to him before. Now he knew that he had fallen out of love with Blaine.

Kurt heard the door to his room open and the thuds as someone came down the stairs. He turned around to see Finn looking very concerned.

"I called Blaine and told him. If that's what you came down here to ask."

Finn's face lit up, and then he quickly tried to look unscathed by Kurt's comment.

"I..uh..No. I didn't come down here for that. Just making sure you were alright."

Kurt quirked his eyebrow up. "Oh really? I'm fine Finn thanks for checking."

"That's good though! That you told Blaine!"

"Mhm."

"Because I know it's not like you to lie. And you shouldn't have to."

"I know that Finn."

"Then why did you?"

"I don't know. I did it without even thinking about it. It didn't seem like such a bad idea at the time."

"You didn't feel bad about it? I know it wasn't a big lie or anything but… Even though I'm not like a poster boy for honesty or anything.. Lying isn't good."

Kurt snorted at Finn's blunt explanation. He knew Finn was right but he always had the worst way of phrasing things.

"Hear me out Kurt," said Finn, taking his hands out of his pockets. "I've lied to people I was in a relationship with and I've been lied to. Neither one feels very nice. Knowing how the other person feels just makes it harder..and worse."

Kurt nodded and looked up at Finn. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure."

"When you lied to Rachel, how did you feel?"

"Well, I felt horrible. Like really, really horrible. I didn't want her to find out, more about the lying than anything, but still. I didn't want to see her hurt. But I was hurting her by lying to her."

"What if when you lie to someone you feel bad about the lying but not really about the person or what you're lying about?" Kurt wanted to know what Finn's opinion was about his whole situation with Blaine. He knew that Finn had come back to Rachel, even after everything they went through. Maybe at one point he had felt the same way about Rachel as Kurt was feeling about Blaine right now.

Finn's face twisted up. "Huh?"

Kurt sighed, he was going to have to spill a lot for Finn to understand him.

"Well you obviously love Rachel now. What about when you lied to her?

"I always loved Rachel. Even when I was lying to her, or she was lying to me."

"Seriously?"

Finn shrugged. "Yeah, I mean. We both got pretty upset with each other. Still do sometimes. But whenever I'm with Rachel, I feel something special."

Kurt bit his lip. He didn't feel anything special when he was with Blaine. And he was sure that he really didn't love him.

"Thanks, Finn."

Finn smiled. "No problem." He turned around and headed back up the stairs and out of the door.

Kurt went over to his bed and sat down. He didn't want to hurt Blaine but at the same time he simply didn't care like he knew he should. Letting Blaine believe that everything was fine in their relationship and that he returned his love was just the same, if not worse, than lying to him. Kurt knew he that he should tell Blaine all of this and break up with him but he just didn't know the right way to do it. What would happen to them if they did breakup? Blaine had transferred to McKinley, not specifically for Kurt, but he knew that he had played a major role in Blaine's decision. He still wanted to be friends with Blaine too. He just didn't know how Blaine would take to that.

"_I'm staying with him for all of the wrong reasons. The longer I stay with him, the worse it's going to be in the long run. I can't even ask anyone for advice, everyone sees Blaine and I as the perfect couple. They would all think that I'm crazy for wanting to break it off with him. Except for Noah, he would understand. He's the only one who knows how miserable I am with this relationship."_

Kurt got up from his bed and changed into his pajamas. Crawling back into his bed and under his covers, Kurt realized that it was only a matter of time before he and Blaine were no longer going to be together.

At school the next morning, Kurt was trying his best to avoid Blaine. He knew he would see him eventually, but Kurt didn't want to have a scene with him in the middle of the school day. Especially not in the crowded hallways of McKinley High.

Kurt was getting his book for English out of his locker as he felt someone tap him on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw that it was only Mercedes. Placing his hand over his heart, he laughed at himself for getting all worked up.

"Hey Mercedes, I thought you were someone else for a moment."

"My bad, Kurt. I didn't mean to scare you." Mercedes looked at Kurt suspiciously. "You alright?"

"Yes, yes. I'm fine. I just thought you were someone trying to slushie me or something."

Mercedes nodded, seeming to buy his excuse. "Oh. Well, how have you been? I haven't talked to you all weekend. I know you've been busy with Blaine and I've been busy with Marcus. I just miss our little hang out time, ya know? School just isn't enough."

"I miss it too, Mercedes. I haven't been on a decent shopping spree in forever and without you I'm so behind on all of the good gossip." Kurt smiled at Mercedes. He really did miss spending quality time with her without the hassle of either of their boyfriends.

"I tried to take Marcus to the mall with me this weekend and it did NOT go well. I should have known that no one could replace the great Kurt Hummel and his excellent fashion sense."

Kurt did a little curtsy and laughed. "No in Ohio, at least. So it seems that you are stuck with me if you want to look relatively decent and up to date in this place."

Kurt looked around the crowded hallway, glancing at the outfits of his peers. He was about to turn his attention back to Mercedes when he spotted Puck leaving one the classrooms down the hall. His face looked blank as he walked closer and closer to where Kurt and Mercedes were standing. Kurt kept his gaze focused on him until Puck looked over and saw Kurt staring at him. He gave a nod in Kurt's direction before turning down another hallway and disappearing from Kurt's sight.

"Kurt! Helloooo, Earth to Kurt!" Mercedes was snapping at Kurt to pay attention and was getting more than slightly impatient.

"Oh! Sorry Mercedes, I just zoned out for a moment there."

"Uh huh." Mercedes looked Kurt up and down. "You've been acting really strange lately Kurt. I know we haven't been together as much as we used to be but I can still tell when something's up. Spill it, White Boy."

Kurt laughed harder than he had expected to. _"She sounds just like Noah sometimes. It's scary. No wonder they never worked out, too much badass and diva for one relationship."_

"What's so funny?" Mercedes looked at Kurt and he knew she was really worried about him now.

"It's nothing, Mercedes. I have to get to class. Talk to you later?"

"Don't think this is over Kurt. I know you're hiding something."

Kurt sighed. Mercedes was his best friend, even if they hadn't been communicating as much lately. "You're right. I'll explain it all later though, I promise. Too much for right now."

"Okay, Kurt. I'm holding you to that. Bye." Mercedes waved as she walked in the direction of her next class.

Kurt arranged himself and closed his locker. He felt like he could talk to Mercedes and explain what was going on with Blaine. He knew she was happy for him to finally get a boyfriend, but she would understand that he just couldn't stay in the relationship anymore.

Finally the day ended. Kurt waited at his locker, knowing that Blaine would show up like he usually did. Kurt tapped his foot impatiently.

"Waiting for someone?"

Kurt jumped at the sound of Puck's voice.

"I.. yes, actually. I'm waiting for Blaine. We have some personal business to discuss."

"Personal business? It's a relationship, not a job."

"Well sometimes it feels like a job. I have to put in so much effort to act like I'm enjoying it."

"Then stop pretending. Call it quits."

"You know it's not that simple, Noah."

"It isn't? Because it seems to me like you're just prolonging the inevitable."

"Prolonging the inevitable? Someone has been paying attention in class."

Puck shrugs. "Hey, when you're sleeping, you absorb some of it."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh."

"But seriously, Kurt. If you keep leading that hobbit on, things are just going to end up worse. Believe me, I know."

Kurt sighed and covered his eyes while ducking his head. "Please, just don't."

Puck raised his hands up, palms out and backed away. "Just saying, dude. Tell me how things go."

Puck turned around and ran off, probably towards the locker rooms for football practice.

"What were you and Puck talking about?" Kurt jumped for the third time that day. Why did people like to sneak up on him so much?

Kurt blushed and shook his head. "Nothing. Just asking me something about Finn."

Blaine nodded, but didn't seem to completely believe him. "Look about last night…"

A small part of Kurt hoped that maybe Blaine would break up with him, but he knew that wasn't going to happen. Kurt was going to have to be the one to end things. He just knew that he couldn't do it now.

"I'm really sorry about lying to you."

"I know. And I've decided to forgive you."

"_Of course you have..." _thought Kurt. _"Oh, this is the part where you smile and be excited about him forgiving you."_ Kurt plastered a smile on his face and hoped that he was conveying the right amount of excitement.

"Thank you, Blaine. I really am sorry."

"I know, Kurt. Just promise me that you won't lie to me again? If you want to do something else, just tell me. We could have done something else if you didn't want to go to the show choir competition that badly."

"_He would think that was the only reason I lied. It wasn't the competition, it was you. Maybe you should tell him that, Kurt. Just tell him that you just aren't interested in him like you used to be."_

"Blaine….I..I'm…" Kurt tried to think of a nice way to phrase what he wanted to say.

"Hey look Kurt, it's okay. I know you're sorry. I forgive you, alright?"

Kurt gritted his teeth and nodded. "Thanks."

Blaine smiled and reached his hand out to rub Kurt's arm. Kurt's first instinct was to flinch or move away but he faked another smile and stayed where he was.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Kurt. Love you."

"Alright. You too."

Blaine leaned up to kiss Kurt, and Kurt skillfully turned his head causing Blaine's lips to only graze Kurt's cheek.

Kurt smiled and looked around. "School, you know."

Kurt waved and turned around to walk away, leaving a very confused Blaine standing in the middle of the hallway, alone.

Puck's words kept ringing in and out of Kurt's ears as he walked to his car. _"Prolonging the inevitable. Stop pretending. End up worse." _

Kurt sighed and tried to shake off everything he was feeling. He climbed into his Navigator and drove home, hoping that no one was home so he wouldn't have to pretend to be happy when he got there.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **_Thank you guys for all of the reviews/story alerts/favorites! So glad that you all enjoy the story so much. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint! Puck's POV_

_I do not own Glee._

Puck went through practice as normal. He shut everything out and ran the plays that Coach wanted him to. Practice was easy for him. He had something to focus on and distract him from his thoughts.

The locker room was different however. Usually he tried to talk to Finn to keep his mind clear and not wandering. Today though, Finn was in a hurry, something about meeting Rachel, so he didn't seem to be worried about Puck. So Puck tried to have a conversation with Mike instead.

"Sup Chang." Puck gave a head nod in Mike's direction as he began to change his clothes. He made sure not to look in Mike's direction as the other boy did the same.

"Hey Puck, not much. Trying to balance out everything. Glee, football, college applications. Being a senior is tough work man."

Puck nodded. "Yeah. I feel you on that one man."

"Have you applied anywhere yet?"

Puck simply nodded. He wasn't really open about his plans for after he left McKinley, and hopefully Ohio. No one besides his mom knew that he had applied to several schools, none of which were in Ohio. He planned to major in something music related, perhaps to be a music therapist. Puck wasn't too smart or anything, but he wasn't as dumb as people pegged him out to be. He had applied for several scholarships as well. His mom was a single parent and he was Jewish, so he had a plethora of scholarships to apply for.

He could feel Mike staring at him for more of an explanation than just a nod, so he spoke.

"Yeah. I have. Nothing too big." Puck chanced a look at Mike, who he saw was nodding. He also wasn't wearing a shirt and Puck found himself staring at his abs.

'Dude, how do you get your abs like that? I rarely ever see you in the weight room." Puck had to force himself to look at Mike's face and not his stomach as he asked the question.

Mike laughed, not noticing anything weird about Puck asking that question. "Dancing, man. Keeps me super fit, especially in my core and legs. Not so much in the arms though."

Mike flexes his arms and Puck can see what he means. He flexes his own arms and Mike raises his eyebrows, obviously impressed.

Puck laughs and resumes putting on his clothes. "I stay in the weight room a lot man, I told ya." Puck loved lifting weights, but not for the reasons that everyone assumed. Lifting weights required a significant amount of concentration which Puck liked. He could focus on the weights and not on whatever else his brain decided to throw in.

Mike laughed and smiled. He had finished getting dressed and had pulled out his phone. Puck could see that Mike's background was a picture of him and Tina kissing. "Well Tina loves me just like I am, skinny arms and all."

Puck felt an odd feeling in his gut seeing the picture, but smiled anyway.

"Good for you man." He waved to Mike as he left the locker room and finished getting dressed himself before he headed out to his truck.

After getting in his own truck he pulled out his own phone and was surprised to see that he had a new text from Kurt.

"_**This whole situation is driving me insane!"**_

Puck laughed and called Kurt as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"I'm guessing that you got my text after you got out of football practice?"

"Yup. Just getting out. Driving home now."

"Wait, you're driving and talking to me on the phone at the same time!"

"Don't sound so shocked. It's no biggie."

"Do you know how dangerous that is!"

"Dangerous is like my middle name. Calm down."

"This is no time for your badass persona to make an appearance, Noah."

Puck could practically feel Kurt rolling his eyes through the phone. He laughed and just continued on with the conversation.

"Anyway. Things didn't go too well this afternoon with the ex-Gargler I suppose."

Puck heard Kurt snort into the phone, but he composed himself before speaking again.

"No, they didn't. I was so annoyed by the whole thing. Of course I apologized for lying, but he took it completely out of context! Then I tried to break things off with him, but he tried to sympathize and pity with me and I just got so annoyed that I couldn't do it! He's so… so…"

"Self righteous?"

"Yes! It's infuriating. He thinks knows everything and he's so smug about it, like he's doing you a favor."

Puck can't help laughing silently to himself. Kurt is really upset and it's a side of him that Puck has never seen. He's seen Kurt upset before, of course. But usually Kurt is very composed. Puck doesn't think he has seen Kurt act like this since he exploded at over not letting them sing Brittney Spears.

"I told you break it off with him, man. He's getting you all rattled up."

Kurt takes in a deep breath and holds it for a while before Puck hears him breathe it out. "I know, but I just…can't."

Puck has reached his house now and climbs out of his truck slamming the door behind him, a bit rougher and harder than he had planned to.

"Why not, dude?" Puck could feel himself growing angry for some reason, and he didn't know why.

"It's hard to understand."

"Then explain it." Puck knows he sounds pissed so he adds on a very forced "Please." to the end of it.

Puck steps into his house and sees that neither his mom nor little sister is there. He knew his mom would be working, but Sarah is usually around.

"Well, it's not something I think I could discuss over the phone. It's complicated."

"Dude, I just got home from football practice. I'm starving. I'm not going to that fancy coffee place again."

Kurt sighed. "Well I would invite you over here, but our living room is currently being occupied by Finn and Rachel."

Puck shakes his head. "Just come over here then."

Kurt stays silent for a while before replying slowly, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I want to hear your excuses for why you can't break up with Preppy Brows while I chow down."

He hears Kurt laugh on the other end of the phone. "Fine, fine. I'll be over there in 10 minutes."

"Cool. See ya." Puck ends the call and throws his cellphone on the sofa as he heads into the kitchen. He heads straight for the refrigerator and sees a post it note sticking on it. He grabs it and reads it as he opens the fridge.

"_Working late tonight. Sarah is going to your grandmother's after school. If I'm not home by 10, please go pick her up. Love, Mom"_

Puck sighs and crumples the note up. His mom had been working more and more hours at her job lately. He knew they weren't the richest people, but lately her work hours had been borderline insane. Puck just figured she was trying to save up for something big. He grabs a Tupperware container from out of the refrigerator and opens it up. Inside is leftover casserole.

"Sweet." He says out loud and puts the container in the microwave to heat up the casserole.

As the microwave beeps, he hears the sound of an engine outside. He grabs the leftovers out of the microwave, along with a fork and goes to answer the door when he hears the doorbell ring. He's shoveling the food into his mouth as he opens up the door and Kurt makes a face.

"What?" Puck says through a mouthful of casserole.

Kurt shakes his head. Puck shrugs and motions with his arms for Kurt to come inside.

Puck plops himself on the sofa and Kurt sits on the recliner.

Something isn't settling in Puck's brain and he swallows this time before speaking. "How did you know where I live, dude?"

Kurt laughs and his cheeks get a bit rosy. "I came here with Finn once."

Puck tries to remember but he can't recall ever having Kurt at his house. Sensing his confusion Kurt explains some more.

"Not inside. He was dropping off a game before we went to store for Carole."

Puck nods and shovels another forkful of casserole into his mouth. It takes him a while to chew enough so he can speak around the food without it falling out of his mouth.

"So tell me why you can't break up with Sir Brows A lot."

Kurt snickers then frowns as he seems to think deeply about it.

"Blaine is my first boyfriend. And I know that may not mean a lot to some people, but for me it is a huge accomplishment. I thought I was going to be single and alone until I left Ohio. I can go around holding hands with him and kissing him, not that I particularly want to anymore, but it's the meaning behind it. I actually have a boyfriend." Kurt smiles for a moment before continuing on. "Even if the people in this town refuse to accept me as I am, they can't ignore the fact that I'm actually in a relationship. I know that seems like such a selfish reason, but I can't help the way I feel. It's so much easier to deal with people's hatred when you know that there is someone else going through the exact same thing as you."

Puck nods. He had put down the container at the start of Kurt's speech and is completely focused on him. He feels a pang in his stomach, not from hunger, but from something else that he can't place his finger on.

"I understand, Kurt. Well, I don't understand, but I get it. No one likes to be alone. Everyone wants to have someone in their corner, someone beside them telling them that they're going to be okay. But do you think that staying in a relationship that makes you unhappy is going to help you out any? Isn't that like…working backwards? You're just alone as you are with him as you will be without him." Puck looks directly at Kurt who has now returned his gaze. "Except you aren't really alone. You have the entire Glee club supporting you, man. It's not just you against this town anymore. It's all of us."

Puck finishes talking and grabs the casserole again, looking down and shoveling food into his mouth again. The room is quiet for a while, besides the sounds of Puck eating, before Puck finally looks up at Kurt.

Kurt is staring at Puck with a curious look in his eyes, his mouth slightly agape.

"What?" Puck says, his mouth full once again.

Kurt snaps his mouth shut and shakes himself to focus again. "Nothing, it's just you're right. Completely."

Puck smirks. "As usual, dude. Nobody appreciates the expertise of Puckzilla anymore."

Kurt laughs and then looks around quizzically. "Where is your family at?"

"Mom's at work. Sarah is at my Nana's. Gotta pick her up around 10."

Kurt nods. "I've never met them before. Finn tells me that they're really nice though."

Puck shrugs. "As nice as a crazy Jewish mother and annoying little sister can be."

Kurt laughs and stands up.

Puck frowns. "Where you going?"

"Leaving?" Kurt says it as more of a question than a statement.

"You just got here, dude."

Kurt plops back down in the chair and says thoughtfully, "Well I might as well stay here for a while. I really don't want to be home alone with Finn and Rachel."

"Definitely not, dude." Puck picks up the remote to the television off of the table and throws it to Kurt, who surprisingly catches it even without a warning. "Nice catch. Turn to something good."

Puck resumes eating what's left of the casserole and walks back into the kitchen. He grabs an apple and bites into as he walks back into the living room. He sees that Kurt is watching American Idol.

"Is this the auditions part?" Puck asks.

"Yes. It's the only time I can really watch this show anymore, everything has went downhill. It hasn't been the same-"

"-since Paula and Simon left" Puck finishes for Kurt, nodding. He looks at Kurt for a moment. "That's what you were going to say right? Sorry for butting in like that."

"No no, it's fine. That's exactly what I was going to say.

Puck shrugs and sits down on the couch. They spend the next hour or so laughing at the funnier auditions and musing over the better ones.

As the show ends, it's 9:30. Puck and Kurt are discussing the singing skills of the people who were going to Hollywood.

"That one girl wasn't even that good!" Puck declares. "Mercedes is 100 times better than any of them."

Kurt nods in agreement. "She would never audition though."

"Why not?" Puck doesn't see why she wouldn't. Mercedes had more soul and talent in her pinky finger than all of those Idol auditioners combined.

"She would say something about her being to good for it, but I think she would be nervous."

"Nervous?"

"She puts up a good front, I know, but inside she's just as scared as all of us are Noah. It's a bigger world out there than we are used to. Lima hasn't really prepared us for that."

"Yeah, that's why I'm planning to get out of here as soon as possible. I just wish I could take my mom and sister with me." Puck's own words flip a switch in his brain. "My sister! I gotta go pick her up from Nana's. Crap!"

Puck and Kurt both stand up and head towards the door.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you late."

"Don't worry about it. I'm not going to be late. If anything, I might be on time for once. I usually fall asleep."

Kurt laughs and heads towards the door, Puck right behind him.

They both head to their vehicles and Kurt waves before climbing into his. "Thanks, Noah. I had fun!"

Kurt cranks up and backs out and Puck watches him disappear down the road before getting into his truck.

His brain is swarming with things that he wants to ignore, so he turns his radio on to a rock station that just happens to be playing _"Don't Stop Believing"._ Puck rolls his eyes and drives over to his grandmother's house, unable to stop himself from softly singing along and flashing back to the memory of the entire Glee club performing this song. Puck remembers his first time performing this song. He remembers back to when he thought the Glee club was something to avoid, but now he can't imagine his life without it.

He pulls into his grandmother's assisted living complex and heads over to apartment building. His grandmother lived in an apartment complex made specifically for older people who could manage for themselves and refused to be placed into nursing homes. Puck always thought of the older people as stubborn, but knew most of them, like his Nana, were just old school badasses who refused to be locked up.

He knocked on the door and waited for his grandma to open the door.

"Noah! Come here and give your Bubbe a kiss!" Puck's grandmother wrapped her arms around him tightly. He bent down and gave the woman a kiss on the forehead.

"Hey Nana, how is Sarah doing?"

"Oh my bubbala, she is sleeping! Let her rest. My strong grandson will carry her out to the car, right?"

"Of course, Nana." Puck rolls his eyes. They both know Sarah is just pretending to sleep so that Puck can carry her out.

"Good boy. Your mother tells me your eyes are gleaming again. You got your chutzpah back?"

"Nana! Don't listen to anything ma tells you."

"Your mother is a smart woman, Noah. She knows her stuff. About you at least. We all know she was never as good in the kitchen as me even though I thought her almost everything I knew."

Puck laughs and nods. "The cholent you sent over was delicious, Nana."

"I know it was. Don't change the subject with me. Remember what I told you about the chutzpah."

Puck nods and he speaks in unison with his grandmother. "You control the chutzpah, don't let the chutzpah control you."

"I know, Nana."

"Good. You can say it, now why don't you listen to it!" Puck's grandmother whacks him on the arm. "Now go get your sister, you two need to be tucked into bed right now. Ay yay yay, your mother needs to just let me move in with my bubbalas."

"We tried that, remember? You and Ma kept arguing all the time." Puck says as he picks his sister up and holds her so her head is resting on his shoulder.

"Me? Argue? I do nothing. Your mother is just always complaining."

They walk to the door and Puck just shakes his head, laughing.

"Goodnight, Nana."

"Goodnight, Noah. Be good my bubbala. And come see your Bubbe more often! Maybe at the temple, eh?"

"We'll see."

"I'll take that as yes." She pushes him out of the door before he can respond and closes it on him.

Puck takes Sarah to the car and lays her down in the backseat, knowing that his grandmother is watching him through her window.

He climbs in his seat and takes off, as he gets around the corner he throws a glance to the backseat.

"Get up squirt, it's clear."

Sarah pops up, a smile on her face.

"Be a little more careful with me next time Noah, I almost hit my head." She climbs into the passenger seat and makes a face. "What is this music?" She turns the radio to some kids top 40 station and begins to sing along.

Puck rolls his eyes, but doesn't say anything. They are home soon, and they both walk into the house. Once inside, Puck gets Sarah to bed before getting himself ready.

He sighs and walks into his room. He instinctively grabs his guitar and starts to strum on it. A little while later, he sees Sarah peeking inside his room.

"I thought you were sleep?"

"Can't get back to bed. Nightmare. Lullaby?" Sarah mumbles out as she crawls into Pucks bed. Puck smiles and starts to play as Sarah slowly falls back to sleep. He plays and sings Coldplay's _"Yellow"_.

As soon as he is sure Sarah is completely asleep, he picks her up and returns her to her own bed.

He sighs and returns to his own room, and gets into bed and wondering if all of the thoughts that have been in his mind lately are apart of his gleaming eyes, and newfound chutzpah.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **_Sorry for not updating as regularly. Been somewhat busy. Thank you guys for reading and reviewing and putting this story on alert. Makes me feel great! This chapter is in Kurt's POV._

_I don't own Glee._

"Okay, spill it White Boy. What's been going on with you lately?" Mercedes raised her eyebrows at Kurt knowingly.

Kurt and Mercedes had a study hall together and decided to take a little trip off campus during there free time. Mercedes usually spent the period with her new boyfriend Marcus while Kurt stayed in the library to study but today they both decided to grab a bite to eat and talk.

Kurt sighed and fiddled with the sandwich in front of him. He wasn't particularly hungry at the moment.

"It's about Blaine…" Kurt frowns down at his sandwich and then continues on. "It's hard for me to explain."

Mercedes immediately straightens up, sensing how stressed Kurt is. "What's going on, boo? Did something happen between you two?"

"No, that's kind of the problem." Kurt looks up and sees Mercedes furrowing her eyebrows, obviously confused. "I just don't feel the same about him as I used to."

Mercedes body relaxes a little bit, but Kurt can tell she is still concerned. "You don't like him anymore?"

Kurt shook his head no and took a bite of his sandwich.

"Maybe it's just a rough patch you guys are going through?" Mercedes suggested the idea hopefully.

Kurt sighed and swallowed the food in his mouth. "I don't think so Mercedes. I'm going to break up with him. I have to, it's only fair."

Mercedes nodded. "I understand, Kurt. You can't stay with him if you don't want to. Do you mind me asking why you don't feel the same? Did Blaine do something?"

Kurt smiled at his friend's concern for him. "No, nothing. I think that's part of the problem. Everything has just been so boring for me in our relationship lately. I know Blaine loves me, but I just don't love him back. I was telling Noah and he told me that I couldn't lead him on like that and he's right. It just wouldn't be fair."

Mercedes cocked her head to the side. "Noah? Puck? Since when have you talked to Puck? And you talked to him about this before me?"

Kurt understood his mistake as soon as he had finished speaking. He knew Mercedes would be upset that he hadn't confided in her first. They were supposed to be best friends after all. He surveyed Mercedes face. She looked more hurt than angry.

"I'm sorry, Mercedes. I didn't mean to exclude you. I would have told you first, but I couldn't really find the right moment to bring it up. It was really personal and I didn't want to bring it up in front of Marcus or even Rachel."

Mercedes still looked hurt, but her angry was dying down. "I understand, Kurt. I'm sorry too. We haven't been able to spend time together like we used to and that's mostly my fault. I've been spending most of my extra time with Marcus."

"That's fine, Mercedes, really. He's your boyfriend and I'm happy that you enjoy spending time with him."

"I just thought you were doing the same things with Blaine. But apparently you're not. I should have noticed that."

"No you shouldn't have, because no one did really. Especially not Blaine."

Mercedes reached out and rubbed Kurt's arm. "I'm sorry, hun. We should have noticed that you weren't happy. Me, Blaine, hell even Rachel should have picked it up."

Kurt scoffed. "Yeah right. She's totally absorbed with herself and with her relationship with Finn. I could shave all of my hair off and she wouldn't even notice."

Mercedes laughed. "Please don't do that. Rachel is a mess though. I have to give her a little talk about remembering that other people exist besides Finn. Although I'm sure I needed that same talk about Marcus before this conversation."

"Hey, I don't blame either of you. If someone made me that happy, I would try to spend all of my time with them too." Kurt smiled at Mercedes, letting her know that he wasn't mad.

They finished eating while talking very light-heartedly about everything that was going on in each other's lives.

They stood up to leave, and continued talking.

"You should have seen Marcus in the store Kurt. He looked so lost. I finally just let him take us to a movie. He couldn't handle all of that shopping but he was trying not to let it show." Mercedes laughed as she climbed into Kurt's Navigator.

Kurt climbed in as well and they headed back towards the school. "At least he tried to do something that you really wanted to do."

"That's true. It was sweet of him. What did you do this weekend?"

"Noah and I went to that art exhibit in the town over, it was great."

"Puck went with you to an art exhibit!" Mercedes raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"What's so weird about that?" Kurt didn't look over at Mercedes and instead kept his eyes on the road. "Friends can go hang out together."

"You and Puck being friends isn't even the half of it, Kurt. I'm more shocked that Puck actually agreed to go with you too an art exhibit."

Kurt laughed, glad that that was the part that Mercedes was most surprised about. Finn and his father seemed to be more surprised about the Puck part than anything.

"He let me choose what we were going to do. He insisted it, actually."

"Are we talking about the same Puck? When I dated him I had to harass the boy to even get me a cup of coffee. And you told him about Blaine at the exhibit?"

Kurt wasn't sure how to tell Mercedes that Puck had already known by then. He decided to be blunt about it; he couldn't hide things from Mercedes too well anyway. "No, I told him about Blaine on Saturday at Lima Bean."

"You got Puck to go to Lima Bean with you?"

"He wanted to talk! And it wasn't something I wanted to discuss over the phone." Kurt was glad that they had finally pulled into the school parking lot, he knew Mercedes was about to bombard him with questions.

"You and Puck went to Lima Bean to talk abut you breaking up with Blaine! That boy barely talks to anyone, even Quinn and she's his baby mama!"

Kurt winced. "Well, we didn't really talk about me breaking up with Blaine until last night…" Kurt quickly stepped out of the car, preparing himself for what was about to come.

"Last night!" Mercedes was out of the car in an instant. "You talked to Puck again last night?"

Kurt saw that she was confused more than anything so he decided to explain. "He told me to talk to Blaine, so I did. It didn't go so well and I needed someone to vent to. He invited me over to his house and we had a good conversation about it. He was really helpful."

"His house?" Mercedes shook her head as they walked back into the school. "Kurt, I don't know what going on with you and Puck but this is too weird. I can't imagine you and him getting along, let alone being friends. It's not my place to judge, but still."

"I know that Noah and I don't really seem like the type to be friends. If you told me that we would be friends a year ago, even last month, I would have laughed at you. But he's been a very good friend so far."

Mercedes nodded. "Alright Kurt. I get that. If you say that he's being a good friend, then I believe you. But if he tries anything stupid, you just tell me and I'll handle him."

Kurt smiled and hugged Mercedes. "Thanks. But I can handle him myself you know."

"Yeah, yeah White Boy. I know. I just would want to get a few shots in too."

They laughed together as they walked passed the chorus room, Blaine was inside by himself, practicing, Kurt assumed.

"You better do it now, Kurt. If you wait for the right moment, it will never come."

Kurt frowned but nodded. "You want to do it for me?"

"Nope, not at all. Good luck though." She squeezed Kurt's arm and then walked down the hallway, leaving Kurt by himself. He sighed and found the courage to walk into the chorus room where Blaine was dancing around to a song that he was humming out.

"Blaine." Kurt cleared his throat. "Am I interrupting? I can leave if I am." Kurt hoped that Blaine would kick him out of the room so he wouldn't have to break up with him. He knew that he had to do it sooner or later though.

Blaine spun around and smiled. "Kurt! No, of course not! I'm just working out some choreography for a song. It can wait though."

Blaine reached out to hug Kurt, and Kurt stiffened and shook his head, walking over to lean on the piano instead.

"We need to talk, Blaine."

Blaine frowned and joined the other boy at the piano. "What's going on?"

"I need to tell you something."

Blaine got a pained look over his face. "You didn't lie to me again, did you? You said you were going to go eat with Mercedes, I saw you leave with her."

"No, I didn't lie. Not about that anyway." Blaine looked confused and Kurt repositioned himself on the piano. "I don't love you, Blaine." Kurt said the last sentence in a rush.

"What?"

"I said I don't love you."

"I heard you the first time, Kurt. I just don't get it."

Kurt sighed. "I just don't feel the same way about you anymore. I definitely don't feel the same way about you as you feel about me and I think that it's best that we break up."

Blaine stared at Kurt a while before responding. "Break up?"

Kurt nodded, he was too nervous to say much else.

"But, why? You don't think that we could work this out?"

"No, I don't. I've been trying to let this pass for a while now, but I know it won't. This is going to sound incredibly cliché, but it really is me. I just can't reciprocate the feelings that you have for me any more and I know I can't lead you on."

Blaine looked hurt, almost to the verge of tears, and when he spoke his voice was soft. "You sure we can't fix this?"

Kurt nodded again. "I'm positive. I'm sorry, Blaine. I just can't do this anymore."

Blaine's face went from hurt to angry very quickly. "I wish I could say that I understand, but I don't. I should have known something was up though." Blaine turned away from Kurt. "Just leave, alright."

"Blaine I-"

"Just go!" Blaine yelled forcefully.

Kurt gasped. Blaine had never yelled at him before. He hurried out of the chorus room and into the hallway. He heard the bell ring and swarms of students came rushing into the hallway. Kurt knew that he had one more class to go to today, but he didn't really feel like going. He walked down the hallway and went back outside to the parking lot.

"Skipping class, Hummel?"

Kurt stopped and turned around and saw Puck leaning up against the side of the school. Kurt crossed his arms over his chest and raised his head.

"So what if I am? What are you going to do about it?"

Puck laughed and walked over to where Kurt posed. "Chill out, I'm not going to rat you out. I'd be narcing on myself too. Just wondering when you had turned into a delinquent."

"Must have rubbed off from you." Kurt's lips twitched upwards as he said the insult.

"Hmm.. Maybe. But then you would know that I skip to try to escape from things. So what are you trying to escape from?"

Kurt sighed. The tone in Puck's voice let him know that he knew something was up. "I just broke up with Blaine."

Puck looked shocked, but regained his stoic face hurriedly. "About time. But uhh, why are you running out of the school? Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Puck quirked an eyebrow at him.

Kurt shrugged. He really didn't know why he was leaving. He was relieved that he had finally broken up with Blaine but why was he the one that couldn't handle school right now? Was it because Blaine had yelled at him? Kurt didn't think that was the reason. He should be happy that he was free from Blaine, he was single now. _"I'm single now. That's what it is."_ Kurt thought to himself.

"Come on, Kurt. Let's go."

Kurt snapped to attention and saw that Puck was pulling on his arm, leading him towards Puck's truck.

"Where are we going?"

"You broke up with Tom Thumb, right? I'm taking you out to celebrate."

"Celebrate?" Kurt raised his eyebrow warily in Puck's direction as they reached his truck.

"Ice cream. My treat. You deserve it."

Puck got into his truck and Kurt nervously got in as well.

"I've never skipped an actual class before." Kurt didn't count going off campus for study hall as skipping.

Puck hesitated. "Do you not want to go? You can go back if you want. I'm sure you're only about a minute late for class right now."

Kurt thought about it. He could go right back in get to class but he really didn't feel like it. Besides, ice cream sounded so much better right now.

"No, we can go." Kurt said, he voice unsteady.

"You sure? Don't do this because you think I'm making you. Just because I'm skipping doesn't mean you have to. I don't want to be a bad influence on you or anything."

Kurt smiled over at Puck. He was amused that the other boy didn't want to be a bad influence on him. He was once again showing his "Noah" side off to Kurt.

"I'm sure, Noah. Let's go." Kurt's voice was steady and sure this time. "We just need to get back in time for Glee practice this afternoon."

Nodding, Puck cranked up his truck. "Of course we'll be back before then. Glee is important to me too, ya know."

Kurt nodded. "Alright, good. Let's go then!" Kurt was getting used to the idea of skipping class and had become excited by the thrill of it all. Not to mention the promise of ice cream.

Puck smiled as he pulled out the McKinley High parking lot. "Alright then!"


	8. Interlude with an ExWarbler

**A/N: **_Just trying something new. This is an interlude, which focuses on Blaine. I needed it for the plot and since neither Puck nor Kurt are present in this scene, I had to give Blaine his own little vignette. Not sure how it turned out though._

_I don't own Glee. _

Blaine watched from the window in the door as he saw Kurt and Puck walk away towards Puck's car. Puck seemed to be holding Kurt by the arm.

Kurt wasn't the type to cheat, Blaine thought. Then again, Blaine had thought that Kurt wasn't they type to lie either. Or skip class. But apparently he was doing a lot of things that weren't like him lately.

Puck was straight though, although Blaine suspected that Puck would never say no to sex, regardless of gender. Blaine gritted his teeth has he fought to keep the mental image of Puck and Kurt kissing out of his head.

Would Kurt really do that to him? Maybe that was why he broke up with him. Blaine thought about it. Could he forgive Kurt for cheating on him? He loved Kurt, sure, and had forgiven him for lying but cheating was a whole new level of dishonesty. He would have to think about it.

Blaine sighed and walked towards his next class. He was already late so he walked slowly in the empty halls. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he barely noticed Santana falling into step beside him.

"Where are you going, Dwarf?"

Blaine looked up at Santana, he was in no mood for her bitchy attitude.

"To my class." Blaine snipped at Santana rudely as he tried to turn down another hallway. She stepped in front of him blocking his way.

"Rude much? What's wrong with you? Someone steal your favorite blazer?" Santana crossed her arms over her chest and looked intensely at Blaine. She could tell something was up and she wanted the scoop.

"Santana, I have to get to class."

"You're already late. Why don't you come to the Cheerios lounge with me? None of the girls will mind, you're too gay to look at our smoking bods anyway. Come on."

Santana hooked her uncrossed her arms and hooked one up with Blaine's, leading and pulling him in the opposite direction.

Kurt was skipping class, so why couldn't he? He was the one who had just gotten dumped after all. He admitted defeat and let Santana lead him off to a door beside the gym that was marked "Janitor."

"Santana, this is a Janitor's closet!"

Santana scoffed and rolled her eyes. She grabbed a key from her bra and unlocked the door. As she pushed the door open, Blaine saw that it was not a janitor's closet. Blaine gaped at the large room, which was full of Cheerios sitting in sofas and recliners watching an enormous flat screen television.

"I didn't know the Cheerios had a lounge." Blaine looked around, surprised.

"Of course you didn't, Pee wee. It's top secret. Figgins doesn't even know that Sue had this thing made. All of the guys in school would give up their own mothers just to have access to this place for 5 minutes, except for you and Kurt of course, so don't go blabbing your mouth about this place, okay?" Santana ranted as she led Blaine over to one of the empty sofas.

Blaine's face crumbled at the mention of his ex-boyfriend, but he nodded in agreement.

Santana noticed the shift in the boy's demeanor and raised her eyebrow curiously. She knew that look. She had seen it on plenty of the guys that she had hooked up with after telling them that she no longer required their services. It was the look of being dumped.

"Where is Hummel anyway? Aren't you two connected at the horribly coordinated fashion accessory or something?" Santana knew she was pushing on a nerve, but she wanted information.

"Kurt and I…. Are no longer together. I just saw him leave with Puck."

At the mention of Puck's name, Santana's lips curved upwards in a slightly evil grin. Puck had told her about his little outing with Kurt to explain to her why he didn't want to come over and join her and Brittany. She didn't push it then, but now she thought she really had some dirt on her hands.

"You guys broke up? How sad. Puck, huh?" Santana licked her lips suggestively, trying to get Blaine's mind to go in the direction that she wanted it to.

"You sound heartbroken. Not like that Santana, Kurt and Puck are just friends. He isn't the reason we broke up."

"Is that what he told you?"

"Yes, he and Puck are just friends!"

"Not about that, Frodo. About you guys breaking up. Why did you guys break it off?"

"He ended it. He said he didn't feel the same way about me anymore."

Santana's grin widened at that information. "So Kurt broke it off with you, huh? Because he didn't feel the same anymore?"

"Yes, that's what he said. Why are you so concerned about it anyway?" Blaine didn't like how inquisitive Santana was being, or the satisfied look on her face.

"I'm just trying to see what's going on here. You want as many people on your side when everyone in Glee hears about it."

"My side? What do you mean my side?" Blaine had not even thought about what would happen in Glee club later that afternoon. He didn't think it would be too big of a deal until he saw the look on Santana's face. Now he was worried.

"You've haven't been here long enough to see what happens when a Glee couple splits. We pick sides. Not outright, but we show our alliance to who we agree with. There's a person responsible for the breakup, and the victim. Now since Kurt is like the Glee club's precious baby or some crap like that, he will probably have everyone's support and comfort. You on the other hand, are fresh meat. And the Glee club is like wolves. They're going to assume you hurt Kurt, and chew you up and spit you out. I've seen it happen before. It's disgusting."

"But he broke up with me, how am I the bad guy here?" Blaine looked panicked and he was getting more and more worried.

Santana saw his distressed and knew she had him in the palm of her hand. She patted his shoulder affectionately.

"That's where I come in. You're lucky I found you when I did. I would have been on Kurt's side too. But now I know that you're the victim here. So you want my help or not?"

"Your help? I mean, yes, but help with what?"

Santana rolled her eyes. "My help with keeping the Glee club off of your short ass, that's what. Finn is going to be upset because he has that stupid big brother mentality, Artie is probably going to try to talk you to death about ways to fix it, Tina will silently assault you with her Asian eyes, Quinn will bitch at you from afar, and Mercedes will probably yell at you and give you some diva speech about hurting her boy. The only person who might side with you is Mike and he doesn't have enough power in the club to do as much for you as I can. Face it, you _need_ me on your side. I'm the only weapon you have."

Santana set back on the sofa and crossed her arms again. She knew Blaine would agree to do anything she wanted now. She just had to play it right. He was putty in her hands.

"Okay, okay. I don't want them to hate me. What should I do?"

Santana smirked and looked over at Blaine, who had leaned over and was massaging his temple.

"Just listen to Aunty Tanny and let her tell you what to do….."


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N:**_ Thanks for being patient with me uploading! I was trying to keep it fairly regular, but my schedule is crazy. Thank you so much for the reviews and story alerts! It means a lot. Please keep them coming. Especially the reviews, I'm trying to improve!_

_Hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_I don't own Glee_

Puck drove himself and Kurt to the Tastee Freeze that was located about six minutes away from the school. It was shaped like a giant ice cream cone and was very popular with the younger kids in Lima.

"Oh my gosh, I haven't been here since elementary school!"

Puck looked over at Kurt as he pulled into the parking lot and saw that Kurt's face had lit up in excitement. Puck smiled over at Kurt, his happiness making Puck happy as well.

"Yeah, I bring my sister here a lot. As a treat for doing good in school and stuff." Puck parks and both boys get out of the car and walk into the building. Puck opens the door for Kurt, out of habit he tells himself. Kurt gives him a funny look, but says thank you and walks inside.

They order their cones, a chocolate and vanilla swirl for Puck and a strawberry for Kurt. Kurt gives Puck another funny look as he pays for both of their ice creams. When they get their cones, Puck leads Kurt over to a booth and they sit down. They enjoy their ice cream in silence before Kurt speaks.

"Thanks, Noah."

"It was only like two dollars, Kurt."

"Not for that, although that was very chivalrous of you as well. I mean for taking me out. To celebrate. I needed it more than I thought I did."

Puck shrugged. He hadn't thought too hard about it. He saw Kurt looking sad, and he had wanted to cheer him up. Seeing him looking hurt had made him feel as if someone had punched him in the gut. He didn't like that feeling.

"No problem, man. I know what it's like to break someone's heart. It's not easy. You have to lighten the mood afterwards." Puck's lips curled up into a grin. He didn't want Kurt to know the real reasoning behind what he was doing, so he gave him a badass one.

Kurt smiled as he licked his dripping ice cream cone. Puck caught him self staring at Kurt's tongue, which was darting out and lapping at the pink trails dripping on the wafer cone.

"You know you don't have to act like such a bad ass all of the time?" Kurt's voice was soft and gentle but it still made Puck snap back into focus and made him look at Kurt's face, instead of his tongue.

"What do you mean? I am bad ass, this isn't an act." Puck tried to stare Kurt down, but the other boy was not impressed and just laughed instead of being intimidated.

"Noah, come on. I know you're tough, but there is more to you than just that. Isn't it?" Kurt raised an eyebrow at Puck, knowingly.

"Maybe. But it's not like anyone cares about what's inside of me. They see me as Puck, the badass stud." Puck looked deflated as he thought about what he had just said. It was more truth in that statement than he had realized before. No one saw him as more than just a jock with a bad reputation, but who could blame them? That was all that he really showed them, so he couldn't really complain.

"You're more than that, Noah." Kurt's consistent use of Puck's first name was comforting to Puck, yet it still confused him. No one really knew Noah besides his family, but he was coming to think that maybe Kurt did.

"Yeah, well. Not too many people care about that. Don't go telling people about it either." Puck smiled at Kurt, to let him know that he wasn't being serious.

"My lips are sealed. No one is going to know that you actually have a heart." Kurt smiled back at Puck, causing Puck to feel a warm, fluttery sensation in his stomach that he promptly ignored. It was probably just the ice cream.

"So how did Harry Potter take the news?"

Kurt giggled and licked his ice cream cone. "Not very well." Kurt stopped licking and his face muddled over. "He yelled at me actually."

Puck's grip on his cone tightened as his anger sparked subconsciously. "He yelled at you!"

Kurt frowned, picking up on Puck's anger. "Not too much. He just yelled for me to get out. It just shocked me I guess."

Puck relaxed slightly, still a little riled up at the thought of Blaine yelling at Kurt. "Still, he shouldn't have yelled. Douche bag."

Kurt raised his eyebrows, amused. "Calm down, I broke up with him remember? He has the right to be upset."

Puck shook his head, not wanting to give Blaine the benefit of the doubt. "Doesn't matter. He still should have controlled himself."

"Like you are right now?" Kurt pointedly looked at Puck's ice cream cone which was now crushed under the tight grip of his fist.

"Shit." When had that happened? He didn't know he was that upset about it. He shouldn't be that upset about it. It was just that dopey kid yelling at Kurt. Why was he so angry about that? "Shit." He said again.

Kurt handed him a few napkins and helped him clean up the mess. Puck hand tingled when Kurt's skin brushed against his, but he chalked it up to the coldness of the ice cream.

Once everything was cleaned, Puck grabbed all of the napkins and stood up and threw them into the nearest trash bin. He walked back over to the booth where Kurt was still working on his ice cream cone.

"How long does it take you to finish a cone, man?" Puck said sliding in next to Kurt instead of his previous position on the other side.

Kurt raised his eyebrows, but didn't comment on the new seating arrangement. "I like to enjoy my food, instead of wolfing it down like a caveman, thank you very much."

Puck laughed and poked a finger into Kurt's ice cream, scooping some of it out.

"Hey!" Kurt protested, but it was too late. He laughed as he watched Puck put his finger in his mouth and suck the ice cream off.

Puck smiled at Kurt and put on his best "I'm sorry" face before bursting out into laughter. He wasn't thinking about what he was doing around Kurt, he let the moment flow as he wrapped his arm around Kurt's shoulder. He felt Kurt tense up, then relax. He wasn't going to think about what he was doing right now.

"Hurry up and eat your ice cream so we can get back before Glee club starts." Puck leaned back in the booth, pulling Kurt with him. He was glad Kurt didn't ask him any questions about what he was doing because he couldn't answer him even if he did know. He had just stopped caring and thinking for a moment and he was doing what came to him. He knew that Kurt understood him as Noah, and wouldn't try to bring it up in an awkward way.

"I was trying to, until _someone_ ruined it with their dirty germs from their grubby little fingers." Kurt sent a mocking glare Puck's way and then grinned as he continued to lick his ice cream.

"Who would have done such an evil thing!" Puck said, faking concern before breaking down in laughter again.

Kurt sighed and resumed eating his ice cream, at a faster pace than before. He finished his cone and poked Puck in his side.

"You ready?"

Puck poked him back playfully. "For what?"

"To leave!"

"We still have a bit of time left. School isn't that far away. Relax. You're with the Puckasaurus here. No need to worry."

Kurt poked his side again. "We can't be late."

"Why not? All that we are going to miss is another solo from Rachel dedicated to her one true love Finn."

Kurt laughed, but poked Puck again. "Practice starts in 10 minutes."

"And it only takes us like 5 to get there. Chill out, Kurt. You have to learn to appreciate the little moments a bit more."

Kurt sighed and leaned back into Pucks arm, which was still around him.

Puck smiled and squeezed Kurt to him briefly, before relaxing himself. The pair sat quietly like that for a few minutes and Puck and titled his head back and closed his eyes before receiving a sharp jab in the side, yet again.

"Ouch! Jeeze!"

"Okay, moment over come on, Puckerman." Kurt stuck his tongue out at Puck before scooting over Puck's lap to get out of the booth. His butt grazed over Puck's lap and he had to try to keep his focus as he felt something stirring down below.

Puck sat in the booth for a moment, calming himself down. That didn't just happen, Puck told himself. He looked over to Kurt, who had put his hands on his hips and was tapping his feet, obviously impatient and ready to go. He was oblivious to all of the conflict and emotions Puck was experiencing at that moment.

Puck sighed and pushed himself out of the booth. "Let's go then."

They walked back to the truck and climbed in. Puck glanced over at Kurt, who still had an impatient look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Puck asked as he pulled out of the Tastee Freeze parking lot.

"We're going to be late." Kurt said grumpily.

Puck shook his head, amused yet relieved. He thought Kurt was going to be upset over the way Puck had placed his arms around him.

"We'll only be a few minutes late. All we will miss is Rachel babbling on to about another way for her and Finn to get more solos and duets. You worry too much, bro."

Kurt winced slightly at the last word Puck had used, but didn't mention anything. Instead he smiled and chuckled lightly.

"As if we needed more of her annoying voice any way."

Puck laughed. "She thinks that the Glee club is just a spotlight for herself sometimes. Like, Rachel Berry and Company."

Kurt laughed harder now. "The Rachel Berry Experience!"

Puck laughed along. "She's good and all, but we have a lot more talent than just her and Finn. Mercedes, Santana, Tina, Quinn, and you!"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you! I know you always sing those girly songs but there is a reason. You're good at it! Guy songs too, but you could out sing Rachel any day."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks." Kurt smiled appreciatively towards Puck as they pulled back into McKinley High.

They got out of the truck and walked briskly back to the school. Inside they quickened their pace as they got closer to the choir room and heard the buzz of heated conversation.

"See, I told you. They're probably in their arguing over something Rachel said."

Kurt and Puck laughed as they walked into the choir room together. Both of them fell silent as they saw that every single set of eyes stared over at them as they entered the room.

Puck looked around; he could tell that something was off. He finally locked eyes with Santana who was giving him her best evil bitch stare down. He had seen that look plenty of times before and it always meant trouble. He noticed that on her left sat Brittany, their pinkies linked, but on her right was Blaine, who was sitting much closer to her than he normally would. The rest of the club seemed to be leaning in towards the two of them, so obviously they were holding the attention of the room before Kurt and Puck had stepped in.

"What's going on, Santana?" Puck said gruffly as he sat down. Kurt quickly sat in the empty seat in front of him, which was next to Mercedes.

"We were just talking about your new friend Kurt over there and how he broke up with my friend Blaine over here, crushing his heart into tiny little pieces."

"I didn't say-" Blaine tried to talk but Santana quickly raised her hand, silencing him.

Puck looked down at Kurt who was tight lipped and obviously uncomfortable.

"I was trying to tell them how Kurt had a good reason for breaking up with Blaine." Mercedes spoke up, glaring down at Santana. Puck nodded in confirmation.

"Well, since Kurt is here now, I'm sure he could explain for us. Since inquiring minds want to know." Santana said inquisitively, feigning innocence.

"I had my reasons, and they aren't any of your business Santana." Kurt replied icily.

Puck could tell Kurt was getting upset, which was causing him to lose his temper.

"Why don't you stay out of other people's relationships, Santana?" Puck said forcefully.

"Oh wow, funny that you should say that since your name popped up in our little heart to heart as well. Looks like you and Hummel have been spending some time together as well.

Puck was shocked, but looked over at Kurt, who he saw glaring at Mercedes and Finn, who both looked caught and ashamed. Puck guessed that he must have told him and they must have said something to Santana and Blaine.

Puck saw that Kurt was squirming a bit too, so he spoke up again. "Yeah, and? Kurt is my friend. We can hang out if we want to."

"Kurt now, is it? Hmm… Okay then. Well I'm sure you two sneaking off to art exhibits together behind Blaine's back had nothing to do with Kurt and Blaine breaking up."

Puck was furious by now and he saw that Kurt was getting redder and redder.

"Guys, we shouldn't be talking about this. This is there business." Tina spoke up timidly.

"Yeah," Mike said, agreeing with his girlfriend. "Let them handle it by themselves."

Quinn laughed. "Like you let me handle cheating on Finn by myself?"

"I didn't cheat on Blaine!" Kurt yelled suddenly. Everyone snapped to look at Kurt. Puck's brows furrowed together. He didn't think it was possible for him to be more upset, but Kurt's sudden outburst proved him wrong.

"Why can't Puck and I just be friends?"

Puck felt himself harden as Kurt used his nickname. He was so used to Kurt calling him Noah, that he felt a bit hurt.

Puck looked away from Kurt, back to Santana who was still smiling.

She laughed glared at Kurt, then to Puck. The awkward silence was broken by Finn.

"Yeah Santana, Kurt can have guy friends."

"But I thought Kurt was gay?" Brittany spoke.

"Just because I'm gay Brit, doesn't mean that I can't have male companions."

Brittany nodded then turned to whisper something into Santana's ear. Santana's face fell at whatever Brittany told her but she rolled her eyes and sighed. "Whatever. Kurt can be friends with a gecko for all I care."

Puck was still very upset, but then came rushing in, apologizing for being late.

Glee practice carried on as normal and everyone seemed to drop any feeling about the heated discussion that they had before practice had begun. Everyone except for Puck, Kurt and Blaine it seemed. During the dance rehearsal part of practice, the three boys seemed to be involved in some sort of backwards game of tag. Puck was trying to get closer to Kurt, to see if he was okay, but he kept avoiding him. Blaine was trying to confront Puck, but he sidestepped the shorter boy every time. Kurt seemed to try to get to Blaine, but he was avoiding Kurt like the plague. The entire club noticed the pattern, except for who was growing more and more frustrated with the lackluster dancing skills from the group as a whole.

"Guys! We need to work on this some more!" He sighed and admitted defeat; they weren't in the mood for dancing today he saw. "We'll work on this next time, you guys head on home." gathered his things and walked out of the door.

Everyone mulled around the room, observing the three boys to see what they were going to do.

Puck had let his anger simmer down, but he was still pretty upset. He walked over to Kurt, before he could escape out of the door.

"You alright?"

"Fine." Kurt said tersely, avoiding Puck's gaze.

"Are you sure, Kurt?" Puck said, more tenderly this time. He really was worried about Kurt.

"Yes, _Puck_, I'm fine."

Puck felt as if someone had slapped him. He knew his face must have looked devastated, but for a moment, he didn't care. Then he regained his composure and his face glazed over in anger.

"Whatever, Hummel." Puck walked out of the room, trying to get to his truck before anyone else stopped him. Just his luck, Blaine was fast in his trail behind him.

"Puck! We need to talk." Blaine called out to Puck's back.

"No we don't Midget."

"Yes we-"

Puck turned around and leaned down menacingly over Blaine's face. "No we don't." Puck turned back around and was at his car when he heard someone call out "Puck!"

Not looking back to see who it was he flipped them off and climbed into his truck and sped away.


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: **_You guys are awesome, really. Putting up with my lagging updates and grammatical errors. I know some of you saw the season 3 premiere like I did, but let's not talk about that. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Kurt's POV_

_I do not own Glee.._

Kurt quickly packed up his things wanting to get home as soon as possible. After Puck and Blaine had stormed off, he was left to deal with the stares with the rest of the Glee club by himself. Finn shook his head and ran out of the room.

Mercedes walked over to Kurt. "Do you want to talk about this?"

"What is there to talk about, Mercedes?'

"You obviously have some things to you need to work out."

"I'm fine Mercedes." Kurt bit his lip. He hated lying, especially to Mercedes. He didn't know what was going on anymore, but he knew that he needed some time to think, alone. He looked at Mercedes and the look in her eyes made Kurt know that she knew he wasn't being truthful.

Kurt grabbed his bag and put it on his shoulder. He turned and walked out of the room before she could say anything else. He walked down the hallway, only to hear the muffled voices of Finn and Blaine. They were standing in the doorway that led outside, arguing. Kurt wished he could avoid both of them, but there was no other way to get to his vehicle.

Kurt tried to shuffle past the two to get to the door, but they both stopped talking and looked at him as he tried to pass.

Kurt sighed and adjusted the strap on his shoulder. "Excuse me."

Finn raised his eyebrow at Kurt. "Dude, look-"

"I just want to go home Finn." Kurt said as he raised a hand to silence Finn. "I'm not in the mood to deal with any off this right now."

Kurt glanced from Finn to Blaine. "Okay?"

Blaine looked hurt, but nodded anyway, stepping to the side to let Kurt pass.

Finn however, remained where he was, still blocking Kurt's path. "You need to talk to Puck too. I don't know what you said to him but he was really pissed."

"Since when have you really cared about Puck's feelings?" Kurt snapped at Finn with all of the venom he could muster up in his voice at the moment, which was surprisingly a lot considering how he felt.

Finn was shocked and gaped at him. Kurt used the moment as an opportunity and pushed Finn aside and walked through the doors, rushing towards his car. He heard Finn's voice and footsteps behind him, but didn't slow down. He got into his car and sped home, not bothering to look back.

As soon as Kurt got home he rushed to his room and locked the door behind him. He didn't know how to feel. He paced around his room, thinking. He was pissed with Santana for being such a bitch and starting all of this drama and upset with Blaine for being such a child and letting Santana control him like that. Why couldn't Blaine have come to him instead of whining to Santana of all people? And Finn and Mercedes had to open their mouths about Puck…. Oh Puck. _Noah_. Now Noah was upset with him too. He didn't want him to get caught up in his mess with Blaine, but why was he so angry now? He figured he would be glad to drop him at the most convenient chance. Although he had stuck up for him with Santana. Why would he do that?

Kurt's mind fluttered back to his evening with Puck. He was acting really weird when they had gone for ice cream. Really… friendly. Kurt had shrugged it off then, but now… What was Puck thinking? If someone from school had seen them they would think that they were together. Hell, even the Glee club thought they had some illicit affair going on and they only had heard about them going to the art exhibit together. Now that Kurt thought about it, it did seem sort of suspicious. It had only been a few days and he had been spending most of his time with Puck. The same guy who had routinely threw him into dumpsters only a year or so ago.

"_Except he isn't the same guy…"_

Kurt had been spending all of his time with Noah. Noah, the nice guy who paid for his coffee and ice cream and went with him to art exhibits and who really actually listened to him.

Kurt replayed his short exchange with Noah after Glee club in his head.

"_I'm fine, Puck."_

Oh no. Kurt rubbed his temples. He really had screwed up. Puck, _Noah_, was just trying to be a good friend and Kurt had ruined that. Kurt knew he had to fix it somehow.

Kurt reached for his phone in his pocket, which had buzzed several times since his arrival in his room. He looked at it and saw that he had missed texts from Finn, Rachel, and Tina, and a missed call from Mercedes. He ignored all of these and dialed Puck's number. Several rings later he was greeted with his answering machine.

"_Sup, it's Puck. I'm not answering my phone because I'm probably __**busy **__leave a message and I'll get to it later." _

Kurt winced at the emphasis Puck had put on the word busy. He sighed and hung up the phone without leaving a message. He was about to call again when he heard a loud banging on his door.

"Kurt! C'mon open up!" Finn yelled down.

Kurt sighed and toyed with his phone before throwing it on the bed. He walked up his stairs and slowly opened the door to see a red faced Finn standing there with his fist raised to knock again.

Finn lowered his hand quickly and shuffled his feet. "Look Kurt-"

"Finn, I know. I need to work things out with Noah."

"No-Puck? I was going to say Blaine."

Kurt blushed, he had assumed Finn had come to harass him about angering his un-ex best friend.

"Right. Blaine too."

Finn pursed his lips together thoughtfully. "Kurt is there something going on between you and Puck? Honestly? I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to." Finn looked down at his shoes, waiting uncomfortably for Kurt's answer.

Kurt bit his lip and played with a piece of his hair that had fallen onto his forehead. He really couldn't answer Finn's question, even if he wanted to, but he knew what he had to say.

"No. There isn't." Kurt said firmly. _"At least, I don't think there is."_ He added as in afterthought in his own head.

Finn looked back up, confused. "Okay then." 

Kurt thought Finn would be happy to hear him confirm that there was nothing going on between him and Puck, but the look on Finn's face looked almost…sad. That's just probably Finn trying to conceal his relief, Kurt assumed.

"Santana was trying to get everyone upset with you though man. Have you pissed her off lately?"

Kurt tried to remember all of his recent interactions with the cheerleader. As he remembered them, they all seemed to be amicable. Or as amicable as they could be with Santana involved.

"I don't know. But Santana doesn't necessarily have to have a reason to be a bitch." Kurt shrugged his shoulders by way of explanation. Both he and Finn knew that Santana probably had her secretive motives for whatever she was planning that no one like knew about, even Brittany.

Ever since she had skillfully broken up Artie and Brittany and had gotten together with the blonde Cheerio, her schemes had died down. No one thought that she would try anything big and sneaky, even though her sarcasm hadn't died down in the slightest.

"Maybe you should talk to her too? Just in case. Or Brittany. Maybe she knows what's up."

Kurt nodded, already deciding on the latter. Brittany would obviously be the easiest of the two girls to try and weasel some information out of.

"Yeah. Thanks Finn."

Finn nodded and smiled at his stepbrother before turning and walking away. Kurt sighed and closed his door again. He heard his phone buzzing again as he walked down his steps. He rushed over to it before seeing that it was just Rachel calling him. Kurt rolled his eyes and hit ignore. He was in no mood for Rachel's antics.

In his mind, Kurt made a list of people that he needed to call. He figured that he would start with the easiest – Brittany.

He dialed up her number and sat down on his bed. The phone stopped ringing after a few rings, but all Kurt heard was a strange noise on the other end that sounded like… Purring?

"Brittany?"

Kurt heard a few weird noises on the other end before hearing Brittany's calm voice.

"Hello? Kurt?"

"Brittany what was that?"

"Sorry. Lord Tubbington is my new receptionist and he thinks that just because he's my cat that I won't fire him for slacking on the job."

Kurt coughed as he held in a giggle. "Oh, well, go easy on him Brit."

"Why are you calling me? Do want to schedule an interview for Fondue for Two to discuss your breakup with Blaine?"

"Uhm.. No, that wasn't why I was calling."

"Because my show needs a buzz. It's falling behind Jacob Ben Israel's vlog in the polls ever since he had that exclusive with the janitor."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that Brittany, but I was just calling to see if Santana had mentioned anything to you." Kurt paused for a moment and then clarified. "About me." He didn't want to risk hearing any of the intimate things that Santana shared with Brittany behind closed doors. He had seen a few of their sexts on accident once and it had taken him weeks to erase the mental images from his brain.

"She told me that you and Puck were fooling around behind that kid with the eyebrow's back but I told her that he would have obviously seen you if you guys were behind his back."

"Blaine? Do you mean Blaine?"

"Yeah. She told me to tell everyone, but then you said that you and Puck were just friends. That made him look really sad."

Kurt's face fell. He hadn't looked at Puck when he had yelled to defend himself during Glee club.

"Oh, well… We are just friends Brittany. Remember what I said, just because I'm gay doesn't mean that I can't have guy friends."

"Are you sure? That's not what Santana said."

Kurt grimaced. He knew that Santana was stirring things up, but she didn't have to involve Brittany like this.

"Did she now?"

"Yeah. She said that straight people don't like to hang out with gay people. That's why the rest of the Cheerios don't really hang out with us anymore."

Kurt felt a pang in his stomach as the pieces began to fall into place in his mind. Santana and Brittany had been spending more and more time with the Glee club lately, sitting with them at lunch and joining them whenever they had a group activity planned. Kurt had thought that they were just getting closer to the club, but maybe they were no longer accepted in the Cheerios. Brittany probably had no idea what was going on and maybe that was the only way Santana could explain it to her. That still didn't explain her vengeance towards Kurt though.

"That.. That isn't true Brit. Straight people can hang out with gay people. You hang out with Rachel, Quinn, Tina, and Mercedes, right?"

"Santana says that they're gay. Especially Rachel. She says that Finn is her mustache."

Kurt can't help but let out a gentle laugh. "Beard. I think you mean beard. But no, all of them are straight."

"And they can still hang out with us?"

"Yes Brit, they can." Kurt's voice is soft, he wants to soothe Brittany now, instead of confront her about Santana. He knows that Santana was just trying to help Brittany understand the cruelness of the other cheerleaders. He just couldn't leave Brittany confused like that. He thought he had it bad, being gay in Lima, he never stopped to think about what being lesbian in Lima could do to you either. He knew that he had to add Santana on his mental list of people to call tonight as well.

"Are you sure Kurt? The Cheerios don't want to got to the movies or have sleepovers with us anymore."

"That's just the Cheerios, Brittany. I promise you, everyone in the Glee club will still love to hang out with you. And Santana."

"And you too? And Blaine?"

"Yes, even us too."

"What about Puck?"

"Brit. He's straight. But yes, him too."

Brittany is silent for a moment and Kurt is sure he can hear her mumble the words "But Santana said…"

"Brit?"

"Okay. Kurt, I have to go. Lord Tubbington is smoking again."

"Alright, Brit. Talk to you later."

As Kurt hangs up, he hears Brittany fussing at her cat. He smiles and checks Brittany off of his list. Next up, Blaine.

He dials the number and takes a deep breath, preparing himself for what is to come.

"Hello?'

"Hi, Blaine."

"Kurt."

"How's everything going?" Kurt mentally slaps himself as soon as the question is out of his mouth. He knows Blaine is probably feeling like crap. "I mean I know you're not in a good mood but I just wanted to call and see if you were somewhat okay at least." Kurt rushes to explain himself.

"Kurt, it's fine. I understand. I'm still confused and hurt that you broke up with me."

"I really am sorry about that, but I just couldn't be with you anymore."

"I know, I wouldn't want you to stay with me if I knew you were unhappy, it would just make me unhappy too. And I'm sorry about the whole Santana thing. She was there and I was upset and she just kind of cornered me, I'm sorry."

"That's okay. I'm kind of starting to see why Santana has been being a bitch lately. I think we may just be her scapegoats in another one of her plans. But.. Are we okay at least? I know we may not be on the best of terms, but you're at McKinley now because of me and in Glee with me too…"

Kurt's mind immediately envisioned Blaine returning to Dalton and the Warblers, using his new found knowledge to sabotage New Directions.

"I'm going to stay at McKinley, it's my senior year. And I'm going to stay with the New Directions too. I like it here. Hopefully, you and I can still be friends?"

"I would like that, but I don't think that would work out too well. We could work on it though."

"Right, of course. But we could push all the awkwardness to side, for the team."

"Yes, of course."

"Alright then."

"Yeah.. Well. Bye."

"Bye, Kurt."

Kurt hung up the phone quickly and flopped back on his bed. Now he had to call Mercedes. He felt his phone vibrate in his hand.

"Well speak of the devil…" he murmured to himself.

He answered the phone and sat up in his bed.

"Hello, Mercedes." Kurt laced his voice with mock sweetness.

"Don't "_Hello, Mercedes_" me, white boy. Do you know what you've started! This is almost as worse as the whole Babygate scandal. Except you didn't cheat and get knocked up, right?"

"Are you asking me if I'm pregnant? Because I'm pretty sure that's a solid no." Kurt said, teasingly.

"Don't play with me, Kurt. I know you said that you and Puck were just friends, but you guys were acting mighty strange today. Walking into Glee club together, today of all days, laughing at that. And don't get me started on the way that Puck defended you and how crushed he looked when you screamed out that you two were 'just friends'."

Kurt groaned into the phone. He hadn't even glanced at Puck when he had said that. If Brittany and Mercedes noticed, the whole club had probably picked up on it as well.

"Oh no, you have got to be kidding me."

"You didn't notice, did you?"

"I must admit, I had to learn about it from Brittany, of all people."

"Damn, if Brittany noticed…"

"Then I'm screwed."

Kurt heard Mercedes laugh heartily through the phone and he groaned again.

"It's not funny. I'm so confused. I have no idea what's going on and now I think he's mad at me too."

"I'm guessing you mean Puck, and not Blaine."

"Obviously."

"Don't get snippy with me, white boy. Maybe you should call him and see."

"I tried no answer."

"Call again. And keep calling. He's stubborn like you."

"I'm not-"

"Call him, Kurt."

"I need to call Santana first."

"Oh no no no. I would _not _do that if I were you."

"That sounds bad. What happened?" Kurt gulped.

"I called her after practice, trying to see what was up and she started cursing me out in Spanish."

"Uh oh."

"Big uh oh. She's lucky I couldn't make out anything that she said. I think Mr. Schue just keeps passing me along because he knows me because I couldn't make out a single word he said. Besides _puta._ And when she said that, I hung up the phone."

"She was pissed?"

"She sounded more upset actually. And hurt. You said you talked to Brit? Some trouble in paradise?"

"Not in paradise, but there is some trouble. Apparently Santana told Brittany that straight people couldn't be friends with gay people."

"Oh hell no!"

"Wait, Mercedes. Brittany told me that she was saying that to explain why the Cheerios wouldn't hang out with them any more."

"Oh my gosh, seriously? Kurt, that's awful. I had no idea."

"Neither did I. Now that I think about it though, even when we were on the Cheerios, they didn't hang out with us too much outside of practice either."

"I never really thought about it."

"That's because we had Tina, Artie, and Rachel. And we weren't used to the Cheerio rituals. We never expected to sit at their table, or be invited to their exclusive outings and once you've been hanging out with a group of people for 3 years and then suddenly they ditch you, it has to be rough."

"Wow. Oh poor Brittany."

"I think it's more of Santana that we need to worry about. Brittany could fit in anywhere and she doesn't mind slumming it with Glee girls. But Santana? She lives off of power. This probably has been a blow to her ego and to her self-esteem."

"You think that's why she started all of this today?"

"Probably so. Knowing Santana, she probably has some devious plan in her head to put herself back on the top."

Well don't you go calling her trying to calm her down, especially not tonight. Go call, Puck. I didn't forget. You guys obviously need to sort some things out."

Kurt groaned into the phone once again. "Do I have to?"

"Yes. You do. And you better tell me about it tomorrow. Love ya boy, bye."

Kurt hears a click as Mercedes hangs up the phone and he sighs and leans forward into his knees, cupping his face. He sits there for a while before he feels is phone buzzing against his face. He sits up and checks it, a text from Mercedes.

"_**You better be calling him."**_

Kurt sighs and reluctantly dials Puck's number. It goes to voicemail again and Kurt hangs up and redials the number. After the third time redialing, Puck finally answers the phone.

"What do you want?"

"We need to talk."

"Can't. Busy."

Kurt winces again at the mention of that word. Every time he heard it on Puck's voicemail message, his heart hurt a little. He didn't want to admit to himself that it made him sad, so he just told himself it was the sickening visual of heterosexual relations that popped up in his mind and that it had nothing to do with the fact that Puck was the one having the relations.

"Yes, we do. Look, I'm sorry."

"It's cool, I get it. You don't want to be friends with me."

"No! That's not it at all. Just, let me explain. Meet me at the park in 30 minutes?"

"I don't think I can. I'm watching my sister."

"Please, _Noah_."

Kurt could hear Puck sigh and waited during the long pause that followed.

'Fine. But I can't stay long."

"Okay, meet you there."

Kurt heard the click and raced upstairs so he could head over to the park. He runs right into his father, just as he open the door.

"Hey, Dad. I'm about to run to the park to talk to a friend, I'll be back before dinner."

"Okay son, tell Blaine that I say hi."

Kurt winces and remembers that he father doesn't know what happened yet.

"Uhm, Blaine and I broke up Dad."

"What? What happened? Do I need to go talk some sense into him?"

"That's sweet, really Dad, but I broke up with him…."

"You did? Why?"

"I just wasn't happy with him anymore."

Burt nodded, clearly wanting to ask more, but not pushing Kurt's simple explanation. "Then who are you meeting up with at the park?"

Kurt played with his hair nervously. "Just Noah."

Kurt started to walk away before his dad could put it together.

"Puck? Puckerman?"

Kurt stopped walking. "Yes, Noah Puckerman."

Burt grunted and shook his head. "Alright, go ahead. But we need to talk about this. Soon."

Kurt smiled and hugged his father. "I know Dad, trust me, I know."

Burt shook his head again as his son raced out of the door.


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: **_Oh my goodness, it's been too long. I've recently acquired, not one, but two jobs, and it's been hard to find the time to fit everything in. Your reviews have been wonderful! Hopefully I can keep updating somewhat regularly. As always anything (constructive, suggestive, etc.) is helpful, wanted, and appreciated. _

_I don't own Glee. _

_Puck's POV. Enjoy :)_

Puck sat on his bed, knowing that he should leave to go meet up with Kurt at the park. He wanted to go, he really did, but he just couldn't seem to leave from his spot on the bed. He wasn't nervous, per say, but something about the fact that he was going out to meet Kurt at the park made him antsy. He shook the feeling off and stood up and walked out of his room and down the hall to his sister's room. He could hear the television blaring some Disney show that she was probably obsessed with.

Puck peeked in her room and found her sprawled out across the floor, painting her toenails. Laughing, Puck opened the door quickly and shouted "Boo!" effectively shocking his little sister.

"Jeeze, don't you knock Noah?" She huffed as she continued to paint her toenails.

Puck shrugged. "Sometimes. Hey, does Ma know that you're painting your toenails?" Mrs. Puckerman wasn't conservative, but she didn't like for Sarah to wear makeup or paint her nails too often, only for special occasions.

Sarah sent a pleading look in Puck's direction. "No, but tomorrow in gym we have to be barefoot and I don't want to have my toes look funny. You won't tell mom, will you?"

Puck smiled. His little sister was so concerned about her appearance. He didn't know where she got it from. Puck and his mother took the relaxed and comfortable approach to their appearances while Sarah had to look put together at all times.

"_Kinda like Kurt…"_ thought Puck. Oh yeah, Kurt. Damn, he knew he had to go meet him.

"Your toes look funny with that junk on 'em, but I won't rat on you. But you have to not rat on me either. I have to go to the park and meet a friend. I'll be back soon, okay?"

Sarah lit up upon hearing that her brother would keep quiet. "Thanks! Ooooooo, a friend? Is it Santana or Lauren?"

"Neither. I mean. It's none of your business, Sarah." Puck shook his head.

"It is my business if I'm keeping it a secret. Who is she?"

"It's not a she. He's not a she." Puck turned around and walked back to his room. Why did his sister have to be so nosy? He was grabbing his jacket to take with him when he saw his sister hobbling out of her room, her toes tied up with toilet tissue.

"Is it Finn? He could just come over. Are you guys doing something at the park?"

"It's not Finn and it's none of your business!" Puck was starting to get frustrated with his sister's antics.

"Oh come on, Noah. Just tell me and I'll leave you alone. I still have a top coat to do anyway."

Sarah hobbled behind Puck as he walked down the stairs and to the front door.

"A top wha-? I'm going to go meet Kurt, okay? Now I gotta go before I'm late. Don't get into anything. Be safe and all that crap." Puck had opened the door and was standing in the doorway. It had gotten chillier outside so he read for his letterman jacket that hanging on the coat stand by the door. He pulled it on and closed the door, cutting of his sister in the middle of another question.

He sighed and walked to his truck, feeling in his pockets.

"Shit." He cursed as he realized his keys were in the house. Pulling out his phone, he saw that he had enough time to run to the park and still make it there somewhat on time. He wasn't going to go back in and face Sarah's questioning again.

Puck sprinted off down the street, thankful that he had grabbed an extra jacket. The days were still warm, but the nights were getting increasingly colder.

Puck reached the park and began to slow down, scanning the park benches for Kurt. When he didn't see the boy on the benches, he immediately thought that Kurt had already left – or worse – that he had not shown at all. Then, Puck heard the creaking of the swings and he jerked his head to the noise.

Kurt was swinging back and forth on swings and he looked… Puck struggled to find a word to describe how Kurt looked in that moment. Peaceful might work, but Kurt was obviously troubled by something.

"_Beautiful."_

The word popped into Puck's head before he could stop it. He wanted to deny even thinking it, but he knew it was true. He sighed and jogged over to where Kurt was swinging. He still hadn't noticed that Puck was there until Puck sat down in the swing next to him.

"Oh my, you scared me." Kurt stops his swing and twists it slightly so that he is facing Puck. "I'm glad you met me here. I'm really sorry about what happened today."

"Don't be. I understand." Puck stares off past Kurt, avoiding his gaze. He knows that he is being blunt, but he doesn't want to risk really opening up and having things spilling out. Like feelings.

"Do you, Noah?" Kurt looks skeptically at Puck, questioning him with his eyes.

"Course I do. Look, you didn't have to make me come all the way to the park just to tell me that you don't want to be my friend."

Kurt laughs softly and shakes his head. "Then you don't understand. I want to be your friend. I thought that you didn't want to be friends with me."

"What gave you that idea?" Puck looks directly at Kurt now. He wants to know what he did to make Kurt believe that he didn't want his friendship. Puck thought he was being pretty damn friendly, a little too friendly even, if he thought about it too hard, which he tried not to.

"I….Well…" Kurt trails off and opens and closes his mouth.

Puck raises his eyebrows. "Nothing? So you assumed that I didn't want to be your friend, just because of nothing?"

"Not nothing! Just today. That whole ordeal. Why would you still want to be friends with me after that? I basically dragged you into all of this."

"You didn't drag me into anything. Don't blame yourself for that crap. That's just Santana's bitchiness. And if you didn't notice, I defended your ass. Like a friend. And you're the one who turned the cold shoulder on me." Puck crossed his arms. He sounded to caring for his own personal liking, but he wanted Kurt to know how much that had hurt him.

"I'm sorry. I've been saying that too much lately, but I am."

"Then maybe you should do what you want and stop apologizing."

"Not everyone is you, Noah Puckerman. Some of us actually care about what people think about us."

"That's your problem then. Don't try to please other people, just yourself."

"If only it were that easy."

Puck nods, understanding what Kurt means. He knows that both he and Kurt put on personas at school. Only Puck isn't sure if Kurt knows how deep Puck's persona is, but Puck knows that tonight, both of their guards are down.

"So, we cool, Kurt?"

Puck can see Kurt smile when he uses his name and that makes Puck smile as well.

"Of course. Do you think you can handle being my friend though? I have a lot of drama, as you can see. Plus, if you're seen with me-

"Then everyone will know you're my friend. I can handle it, I'm a badass. We're in Glee together anyway. All of us should be friends. It might help out singing more if we all could get along instead of fighting so much."

Kurt nods and laughs. "That's true. But don't say I didn't warn you. You've officially been signed on into the Kurt Hummel Friendship Experience."

"That makes it sound like some kiddie ride, man."

"It's the ride of a lifetime, thank you very much."

"Alright then. I guess I'm signed on then."

Kurt holds his fist up and Puck stares at him for a while, confused. He thinks he knows what Kurt wants him to do, but he can't believe it and he won't do it.

"Do you want me to bump your fist?"

"Yes! I'm not so out of touch with the basis of male bonding."

Puck can't help but laugh. "Apparently you are. No one fist bumps anymore, except for Finn. Which is where I'm guessing you got it from."

Kurt lowers his fist slowly and looks rejected. "Yeah…"

Seeing Kurt's face fall makes Puck's stomach clench tight. Damn. His mind is on high alert and before he can think to hard about what he's doing and why, he holds his pinky out.

It's Kurt turn to stare confusingly.

"Your pinky? Now fist bumping may be outdated, put pinky linking? Pinky promises are –"

"Timeless, man. I've seen you link pinkies with Mercedes, don't try to hide it. And I pinky promise with my sister all the time. It can be like a pact or something. A friendship pact."

Puck wants to smack himself in the head. Did he really just say that?

The smile he sees on Kurt's face makes it worth it though. Kurt locks pinkies with Puck and they hold on for a few moments before releasing.

"That was cheesier than the fist bumping." Kurt says in a matter of fact tone.

Puck shrugs. He could care less right now. His pinky feels like it's on fire and the warmth is radiating through the rest of his body. Just because of that simple touch. It's probably just the two jackets that he has on though.

Kurt obviously isn't feeling the same heat that Puck is however, as he sees him shiver as the wind blows.

"Where's your jacket at?"

"I left it at the house. I didn't know it was going to be this cold out. It's been warm all day!"

"How long have you been living in Lima?" Puck chuckles as he takes off his jacket and hands it to Kurt. "Here, put this on. Can't have you freezing to death on my watch."

Kurt hurriedly grabs at Puck's jacket and throws it on himself. "Thank you." He sighs in relief at the heat of the jacket.

"Better?"

"Much." Kurt leans back on the swing and starts pump back and forth, swinging higher and higher.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm swinging! What does it look like I'm doing?"

Puck shakes his head, but then stands up and starts to push Kurt's swing to help him get even higher. He can't help but laugh as he sees Kurt reach his arms out, almost as if he is trying to reach the stars that have come out while they were talking.

"Higher, Noah!"

Puck was full out grinning now. Kurt was so… adorable. He was letting loose and acting like a little kid. It was amusing to Puck, in a good way. He pushed Kurt higher, until he thought Kurt was going to fall out or hurt himself. He let the swing come to a stop before grabbing the chains again, laughing.

"You are such a little kid."

"You're one to talk, Mr. Pinky Promises." Kurt leans back his neck so he is looking at Puck's face. Puck gazes at him for awhile and the moment feels so perfect. Puck dips his head lower, closer to Kurt's, for a moment, then stands back up completely.

Did he just do what he thinks he did? Puck shakes his head.

"I gotta go. Sarah's at home by herself.

Kurt nods, quiet now. "Alright. See you tomorrow?"

Puck's lips curl up into a soft smile. "Yeah." He turns to walk away and has made it to the edge of the park before he hears Kurt calling him.

"Noah! Your letterman jacket!"

Puck turns around to see Kurt running to catch up with him, shrugging out of the red and white leather jacket.

"You're going to freeze on your way home. Keep it until tomorrow."

Kurt stares up quizzically at Puck. "Are you sure?"

"Uh huh. You can't walk home without a jacket when it's this cold out. You'll get sick or something."

"Thanks." Kurt puts Puck's jacket back on and wraps his arms around his body. "Okay, let me go home before I turn into an icicle." Kurt smiles and backs away, not turning his body for a moment. He waves and calls out "See you tomorrow!" before turning and skipping off in the direction of his house.

Puck can feel his mind turning and his stomach fluttering, but he pushes everything away as he runs back home. He refuses to think about anything tonight.

Before long, he's back home and inside his room, lying down on his bed.

Sarah walks into his room a little while later and lies down next to him.

"Sooooo…?" She questions nosily.

"So what? Why aren't you in bed."

"Couldn't sleep. Can I sleep with you again?"

"Another nightmare?"

Sarah rolls over closer to him and he can feel her nodding.

"Fun with Kurt?" Sarah asks sleepily.

Puck doesn't answer for a while, even though he knows the answer is yes. Definitely yes.

"Yeah. I did."

"Good." Sarah is mumbling now, she is basically asleep, but that doesn't stop her from lifting her head up and looking at Puck and nodding.

"You look like you had fun." She collapses back down and is sleep in a matter of moments.

Puck frowns, He looks like he had fun? What is it with the women of his family thinking they could read him like a book?

Sighing, Puck readjusts himself on the bed. Who is he kidding, he knows that they can. Like some six sense, just for telling what is on Puck's mind. Maybe one day they could tell Puck what was going on, because he hardly seemed to know anymore.

Puck lay in bed, pushing thoughts out of his mind until he finally dozed off to sleep, dreaming of stars, swings, and pinky promises.


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N:** _Oh my goodness, I know you guys probably hate me for waiting this long, but I'm back and I plan to be writing more often. Please tell me if you notice any irregularities or changes! I'm trying to keep the story flowing as much as possible, despite the break. Reviews are always loved and appreciated :)_

_I do not own Glee. _

_Kurt's POV_

Kurt walked back to his house smiling uncontrollably. He couldn't help it, being with Noah tonight and knowing that their friendship was on good terms was wonderful.

His happiness was halted when he saw Finn standing in the foyer as soon as he opened the door to his house.

"Where did you go this late, dude?" Finn's face held a mixture of shock and concern. "Is… Is that my letterman jacket?"

Finn walked over to Kurt and examined the red and white leather.

"I was at the park Finn. And this is Noah's letterman jacket, not yours."

Finn's face twisted up, even more confused than it originally was. "Why do you have his jacket?"

"It got chilly outside. He told me to keep it while I walked home so I wouldn't get sick. I think that that was rather nice of him, don't you agree?"

Kurt folded his arms and faced his step-brother in the foyer. He wanted to see how he was going to respond to the current situation.

"He what? Wait…. Puck was at the park with you?" Finn's face of confusion slowly relaxed into one of understanding.

"Yes Finn, he was. Is that a problem?"

"No! Not at all!" Finn raised his hands in defense, smiling. "I'm glad you guys got all of that mess settled. I couldn't have my best dude and my brother fighting."

Finn walked over to Kurt and wrapped an arm around him.

Kurt looked up at Finn, slightly shocked, not that he would ever admit it. He did think that Finn would be a bit more, resistant to the idea of his and Noah's friendship.

"So, you aren't weirded out or upset about us being friends?" Kurt asked as both boys walked together towards the kitchen.

"Of course not. I was only upset before because you had lied to Blaine. And then there was that whole Puck going to an art show thing, but I'm kinda used to Puck doing weird things."

Kurt's smiled returned for the second time that night only to disappear as he and Finn entered the kitchen.

There, Burt stood holding a mug and looking quite serious. Finn's arm instantly dropped from Kurt's shoulder and he began to shrink back.

"Kurt, we need to talk."

Kurt stood still, rooted to the spot where Finn had left him.

"Yeah, well Kurt, I'll see you tomorrow then." Finn hurriedly said as he turned and walked out of the kitchen.

Kurt stood nodding, though avoiding his father's steely gaze. "I know, Dad."

"Look, I'm not trying to be over protective." Burt stopped and shifted. "Well, actually I am. I just don't want you getting hurt, kid. And I also don't want you hurting anybody else. I know you've always had to protect yourself, but sometimes you get so caught up in hiding your true feelings that you forget that other people have feelings too."

Kurt finally looked up to face his father. "I realize that, Dad. Especially after today. Sometimes I get so preoccupied in defending myself, that I forget that other people may want to defend me too. And that I can't just disregard those people's feelings."

Kurt thought about Noah during the argument before Glee rehearsal. He had completely ignored the fact that he had stood up for him. That everyone had stood up for him; Finn, Mercedes, even Tina and Mike. Kurt sighed and walked closer to his father.

Burt wrapped his arms around his son, engulfing him into a bear hug.

"See, son, I knew you weren't as cold hearted as some people make you out to be. That's not the Kurt Hummel I raised."

"Yeah, Dad, I know." Kurt tried to free himself from his father's tight grip, but was unsuccessful.

"And I also know that my son will be nice to everyone, even certain ex-boyfriends and uhm.. less than friendly cheerleaders."

Kurt went limp just as his father released him. He looked at his father, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Who told you? Finn?"

"He filled me in on some of the specifics, yeah. But only cause I hounded him into it. You left your old man hanging outside clueless."

Kurt hugged his father again, this time wrapping his own arms around his father's middle tightly.

"I'm sorry, Dad. Everything was so crazy today. I didn't mean to make you feel left out. "

Burt patted his son on the back lovingly and chuckled.

"It's alright son. Just try not to let it happen again. I can't keep going to Finn for information. The kid can explain a game, but he can't explain drama for his life."

Kurt laughed released his dad. "I think I'm going to go ahead and get ready for bed, today has been quite a long day for one Kurt Hummel."

"Alight kiddo. G'Night."

"Goodnight, Dad."

Kurt smiled admiringly over at his dad one last time before walking out of the kitchen and downstairs to his basement bedroom.

Kurt underwent his nightly rituals, showering and moisturizing before he changed into his silk pajamas. He found himself humming absent mindedly all the while. He smiled to himself as he got under the covers. He really hadn't been this happy going to bed in a while. Despite all of the theatrics that had went down today, he was going to bed happy. And that was just how he liked it.

Kurt awoke the next morning with a smile still plastered on his face. He got up and got ready for school, grabbing his school bag and Noah's letterman jacket before heading upstairs to greet the rest of his family for breakfast.

Kurt skipped into the kitchen to see a sleepy looking Finn munching on what appeared to be beef jerky.

"Finn, that's hardly a healthy breakfast. I know you aren't much of a cook, but you could have made some eggs and toast."

"Thstvsbrkn!" Finn managed to mumble around a mouthful of jerky.

Kurt folded his arms and stared at Finn until he had chewed and swallowed the contents in his mouth.

"Now repeat that please, without the food in your mouth."

"The stove is broken. Burt said something about my eyes or something. But I swear I didn't break it!"

Kurt couldn't help but laugh at Finn's lack of mechanical knowledge. "The eyes on the stove Finn, the burners." Finn still looked sheepish, so Kurt further clarified. "The things on the top of the stove that the fire comes out of."

Finn finally nodded and continued chewing on his jerky.

"Still, that is no excuse for you to be eating beef jerky for breakfast. Do you want some microwave oatmeal?" Kurt walked over to the pantry, where he remembered his father hiding the quick and healthy bran oatmeal.

"Oooh! Do we have the kind with the dinosaur eggs?" Finn looked up excitingly to see what Kurt was reaching for until he saw what Kurt actually pulled out. "That just looks like it's for dinosaurs" Finn said pulling his face.

"It's healthy for you. It has lots of whole grain and fiber. It'll make you grow up to be big and strong."

"I think I've already grown up big enough. I'll pass on the old dinosaur oatmeal."

Kurt shrugged. "Suit yourself." He began preparing his own bowl of oatmeal when Carole came downstairs, still in her robe and slippers. This was unusual as Carole was usually the first one up in the morning.

"Hey Mom, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm off work today. Good thing too, someone has to be here when the repair man comes."

"Repair man?"

Kurt's eyes bugged out as he rushed over towards Carole. "Please tell me that you didn't call a repair man!"

Carole and Finn turned to stare at Kurt curiously.

"Of course I did, sweetie. Burt told me before he left that the stove was broken, so I called a repair man, to save him the trouble of having to fix it himself."

Kurt shook his head and rubbed his temples. He knew Carole was only trying to be helpful and that she wasn't fully caught up on the way usually worked with the Hummels.

"Carole, I know you were trying to save my father the trouble, but trust me, you might want to call the repair man and cancel. My father has a certain..." Kurt paused, searching for the right word "Vendetta for all of the repair men in Lima. Possibly all of Ohio. I'm surprised that you found one willing to come here."

"Wait, your dad can't be Bothersome Burt."

Finn has finished his jerky and has joined Kurt and Carole in what has become sort of a family meeting.

"How did you hear about that?" Kurt glances at Finn, that name for his father was usually reserved for the appliance mechanics that had frequented their home over the past few years.

"Well, one summer I had a desk job and Randy's Repair, you remember mom? That first summer Puck went and got a job with them and got me a job too?"

Carole nods, still not fully understanding what the boys where talking about. Finn continues on, to clarify.

"Well, the guys would always talk about some guy. Bothersome Burt. He would hover over them while they were working. Even if they managed to do the job without him being there, he would call in and tell them about things they had done wrong or could do differently."

"So finally, word got around and now they tell him to just do it on his own. He's not bad at it, but just between working in his shop and fixing whatever is broken….. Let's just say that it might take a while." Kurt stares at Carole until she finally speaks.

"So… just call and cancel on the repair man?"

Kurt picks up his school bag and oatmeal; he needs to leave now if he wants to be on time for school. 

"I'm sure you won't have to cancel, just tell them who my dad is and I promise you that they won't show up. Enjoy your day off, Carole! Come on Finn, we don't want to be late."

"Bye, Mom!"

Kurt and Finn can't help but laugh the entire way to their cars and they both are still laughing by the time that they pull up to school.

"Man, I can't believe that Burt is Bothersome Burt! All this time!"

"Ugh, I know. It was so embarrassing when I was younger. He was always trying to use me to trick them into coming over. Having me call so they wouldn't know that it was him asking for a service."

Both boys are laughing right up until they reach the entrance of the school, where they see Santana and Brittany covered in the signature fluorescent blue of a slushie. Well, most of the slushie is on Santana. From what Kurt can see, it looks like she stepped in front of Brittany to take most of the icy blast.

"Oh no." Kurt instinctively pulls out a small hand towel from his bag that he keeps in case of emergencies. He rushes over to the girls, trying his best to mop up the blue chunks of ice that are dripping on their faces and pristine Cheerios uniforms.

"Are you girls alright?" Finn comes over a moment later, still looking quite shocked from the sight of seeing the girls slushied.

"Of course not Godzilla. We just got 42 ounces of frozen tundra tossed in our faces. We're not fucking alright."

Santana pushes Kurt away and grabs Brittany's arm, leading her towards the nearest bathroom.

"We're going to clean this shit off of us."

Kurt trails behind Brittany, who still hasn't said a word, but is rather emitting a high pitched squeak every so often.

As they reach the bathroom, Santana pushes Brittany inside before she whips around and pushes Kurt away from the bathroom.

"It say's Girls. Only."

Santana slams the door and Kurt can hear the telltale click of the door locking. He really doesn't know why they thought it was a good idea to have inside locking locks in the door of a high school bathroom.

Kurt stands there shocked for a moment before he pulls out his cellphone.

It rings for a while before the person that he is calling picks up.

"What's up, boo? I saw your Nav parked out front but you aren't in our usual morning meet up place."

"Listen 'Cedes, it's an emergency. Santana and Brittany have been slushied. Blue raspberry. She's pissed and she's locked me out of the bathroom. East wing, near the north entrance. I need reinforcements."

"Already sending out a mass text. How bad did they get hit?"

"About a 7 for Santana, and a 4 for Britt. Santana took most of it, I think she used herself as a shield."

"Do you know who did it?"

"I didn't see; all I saw was the aftermath."

Kurt hangs up his phone as Mercedes walks up in front of him. Tina quickly comes, tugging Mike. A bewildered looking Puck follows behind as well.

"I think it's worse than what we thought last night, 'Cedes."

"What's worse than what?" Mike asks looking genuinely concerned.

"I'll fill you in later, Mike." Tina reaches in her hair for a bobby pin and begins working on the bathroom lock and she turns to Mercedes.

"All we heard was what Brittany told us. Knowing Santana, she probably only told her the watered down version, and that was bad enough."

The lock clicks just as Rachel shows up, with what appears to be a shower caddy.

"I have the emergency kit, am I too late?"

"Just in time girlfriend, come on." Mercedes grabs Rachel's arm and the three girls disappear into the bathroom.

Tina's head sticks out "You coming in Kurt?"

Kurt shakes his head solemnly. "I don't want to make things worse right now. Santana seems pretty pissed at me. Tell Britt that I asked about her though."

Tina nods and sticks her head back inside as the door closes.

A few moments later Quinn comes to the door and looks at Kurt. They exchange a knowing glance before she too disappears behind the solid wood door.

Kurt, Mike, Puck, and Finn stand outside the door for a while until the warning bell rings.

"So…." Finn turns towards Kurt. "You mind filling us in on anything?"

Kurt sighs and starts walking down the hall. The rest of the boys follow him, leaning in so they can hear over the rush of students in the halls.

"Basically, Santana and Brittany are catching a lot of crap for being together. Especially from the cheerleading team."

The boys have different looks of hurt and anger as they reach a crossway.

"Is there anything that we can do?" Puck asks finally.

"Not really. Just look out for them. And wait."

"Wait? That's all we can do?" Mike looks angry, but concerned.

"That's all we ever can do."

The late bell rings and the Glee guys break up to go to their respective classes.

Kurt sits through Anatomy sullenly thinking back on all of the bullying he had experienced at the hands of Mckinley. It was hard, cruel, and degrading and he hates having to think about Brittany and Santana going through anything remotely close to what he went through. Santana could maybe handle a shove, but that still didn't make it right. She didn't deserve that. Kurt just hoped that no one thought to toss them into dumpsters or worse.

As Kurt sat in his Anatomy classroom, he could hardly pay attention to the muscles that they were reviewing today. All he could focus on was the vision of Santana and Brittany covered in blue slushie that kept replaying in his head.

He was so relieved when the bell rang, releasing him from the class.

Kurt was so engulfed in his own thoughts that he didn't even see Puck standing at his locker until he got there.

Kurt snapped back to reality. Puck probably wanted his jacket back.

"Your jacket is in my car, don't worry about it. I'll get it for you before practice."

Puck scrunches up his eyebrows. "What? Oh no, don't worry about that. We have to do something about Santana and Brittany. We messed up by letting your bullying go on for so long. I can't make that mistake again."

Kurt is taken aback by Puck's concern for the issue. Then again, he really isn't. It's like this new Noah is showing up more and more around Kurt and he has to admit that he likes it.

"Well I did try to hide it from you guys, I tried to handle it own my own mostly."

"Yeah, but you shouldn't have had to. We all knew. Not that it was that bad, but still. We're like a family. A strange incestuous family. I can't let myself let the bullying slide by again. When I did it, it was wrong, but not as bad. I did it because I could, these guys are fucking homophobes. That shit ain't cool."

"Well, I'm afraid that there isn't much we really can do. Although, I'm proud of you for trying to help. Slushies and the like are all a part of life for an outcast here at Mckinley."

Kurt closes his locker, assuming that their discussion is over, he's trying not be late for another class today.

Puck however, seems to have other plans in mind as he follows Kurt down the hallway.

"I'm not talking about slushies, Kurt. I'm talking about emotional shit. And physical too. Santana can handle some of the physical, but the emotional warfare is going to fuck her up. You've seen how she can get and this is before a slushie was thrown. And Brittany can't handle any of it, she's too innocent and naïve. There's got to be something we can do."

Kurt stops in the middle of the hallway and looks at Puck. There's a strange look in his eyes and Kurt knows that he is dead serious.

"Alright, but we can't just ambush whoever is responsible. Mostly because I think it's the Cheerios behind it. Coach Sylvester would be all over the entire Glee club if we hurt them. We need to meet up and think of a plan of attack."

"Okay. I couldn't fight a girl anyway. Should we tell any of the other guys? Mike seemed pretty upset this morning."

Kurt thought about it. Having the other guys in on whatever they came up with would be a good idea, but he didn't want it spreading or becoming a mass effort. Too many people usually flawed plans.

"I don't want him telling Tina about it, so maybe we should hold off on telling him until we formulate an actual plan."

"Cool, we'll meet up at lunch. We can go to the Tastee Freeze again."

"Fine, but I'm driving this time."

Puck flashed a smile at Kurt before he walked off, hopefully to his class.

Kurt smiled to himself as he walked into AP Physics. He didn't know what it was about Noah Puckerman that made him so happy, but he definitely liked it.


End file.
